


like a chord on a harp

by carolinecrane



Category: Glee
Genre: Infidelity, M/M, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-26
Updated: 2011-09-26
Packaged: 2017-10-24 01:39:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 47,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/257447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blaine's the perfect boyfriend in all the ways that are important to Kurt, so if their sex life isn't ideal, it's not the end of the world.  At least that's what Kurt tells himself until Puck offers to help them with their problem, and Kurt discovers exactly what's been missing from his relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	like a chord on a harp

**Author's Note:**

> I started this before the season 3 premiere, so it's sort of AU already. :shrug: What can you do.

Kurt let out a soft sigh when Blaine let go of him, leaning back on the pillow and arranging himself as demurely as he could manage when he wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing. He felt himself blush at the thought and wondered if he’d ever get used to being naked in front of someone else. Naked and…messy, and he knew from experience that it was worth it, but there was still a little part of him that had trouble letting go enough to let himself enjoy it.

When Blaine reappeared, perfect smile in place and stretching out next to Kurt, he took a deep breath and turned onto his side. A hand landed on his hip and Kurt closed his eyes, waiting for the slick press of Blaine’s fingers in his most intimate place. Instead he found himself being rolled onto his back, and when he opened his eyes Blaine’s smile was gone, replaced by a puzzled frown.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you think?” Kurt asked, his own frown mirroring Blaine’s. “It’s my turn.”

“Is it?” Blaine said, looking genuinely surprised, and Kurt bit down hard on a sigh, because honestly, he was not having this conversation again. “I could have sworn it was mine.”

“No,” Kurt answered with more patience than he really felt, “your turn was on Friday, remember? My Dad took Carole out for a movie after dinner and Finn went somewhere with Rachel, and we took advantage of the privacy.”

“Oh. Right,” Blaine said, as though it really had slipped his mind, which didn’t say much for his opinion of Kurt’s – admittedly limited – skills. Though in his defense, he’d been less than enthusiastic after wasting twenty minutes arguing about whose turn it was that time as well.

A hand slid down his side, thumb stroking along the sharp angle of his hip bone, and Kurt did not arch up into the touch, because he knew exactly what Blaine was doing. If he couldn’t tell by the way Blaine was touching him the smile would give it away, and Kurt didn’t bother trying not to roll his eyes.

“Couldn’t I go again, just this once? Then you can have the next two turns, I swear. Please, Kurt. I need you.”

His voice dropped on the last few words, but Kurt was not going to fall for it, not again. “That’s exactly what you said the last time, in case you’ve forgotten that too.”

He pushed Blaine’s hand away and sat up, casting his gaze toward the foot of the bed where he was fairly sure his shirt had landed. “Which means that technically this time _and_ the next time should be my turn.”

“Really? “ Blaine said, frowning again and if Kurt hadn’t already made up his mind to cut his losses, that would have done it.

He climbed off the bed and looked around until he spotted his underwear, pulling them on over his quickly fading erection before he reached for his pants.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” Kurt said without looking back at Blaine. “I’m going home.”

“Kurt, come on,” Blaine said, and Kurt heard him moving, but he wasn’t going to look, because if he did he knew he’d probably give in, and he had a _little_ pride left. “You don’t have to go. We can just…I don’t know, take turns or something.”

Kurt rolled his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time since they’d started sleeping together. The truth was they’d already tried that, but the trouble with Blaine was that as soon as he came he passed out almost immediately, and nine times out of ten that meant he left Kurt hanging. Again. So they’d come up with their current compromise, only Blaine conveniently forgot all the times Kurt topped, and only seemed to remember the times he did.

Which, again, didn’t say a lot for Kurt’s skill, but at the moment that was the least of his worries. The truth was he was tired of doing all the giving while Blaine did all the taking, and as much as he liked the other parts of their relationship, he was starting to regret that they’d ever slept together in the first place.

“Honestly, I’m not even in the mood anymore,” Kurt said as he pulled his boots on. And this time he did look, but when he took in the sight of Blaine kneeling in the center of his bed, still hard and looking sort of confused, he didn’t feel that bad. “I’m not sure this is working out.”

“Wait. Are you breaking up with me?”

“No,” Kurt answered, frowning down at his left boot as he pulled it on. “I just…I need some time to think. I think it would be good for both of us.”

He finished lacing his second boot and stood up, turning to look at Blaine. He was still completely naked, perfect and beautiful and if he didn’t look like someone had just kicked his puppy, Kurt might be tempted to stay. Except he knew he wouldn’t get what he wanted even if he did, which meant he’d spend the rest of the evening lying next to a snoring Blaine, staring at the ceiling and wondering why people got so worked up about sex and what, exactly, he was missing.

“You can’t be serious. Think about what you’re saying.”

Kurt knew what he meant. Blaine would never admit it – he probably wasn’t even aware that he was thinking it – but that didn’t change the fact that Blaine wasn’t upset that Kurt was leaving so much as he was shocked that Kurt would walk out on _him_. And he had a point; Kurt had never been with anyone else before Blaine, and he had no idea if this was as good as it got.

Relationships were about compromise, sure, his father had told him that often enough. But surely Kurt shouldn’t be the only one doing the compromising, and lately that was what it felt like.

“Kurt,” Blaine said when he didn’t answer, reaching for Kurt’s hand, and Kurt let himself be pulled forward in spite of his better judgment. “You know I love you.”

Kurt’s heart skipped a beat at the words he still hadn’t gotten used to hearing, even after over six months together. He’d never expected to have a boyfriend in high school at all, and to have one as perfect as Blaine, who claimed to love him…it was hard to think about walking away from something like that just because their sex life wasn’t perfect.

“I know,” was all he said, then he pulled his hand out of Blaine’s grip and turned to go.

~

Back when they first met, long before they started dating, Blaine used to send Kurt one word texts, messages of encouragement like _courage_ and _pride_. As though Blaine were some sort of gay guru, and Kurt mostly didn’t mind. It was nice to have someone to talk to, someone who understood him in a way none of his other friends or even his father could.

Kurt still appreciated that about Blaine, but there were times when it still felt a little like Blaine was his mentor rather than his boyfriend. The day after their – not a fight, exactly, but certainly something of an impasse – Kurt got a text from Blaine. Two words this time, and he had a feeling they were supposed to make him feel better, but somehow they just left him even more conflicted than before.

_miss you_

It should have made him feel good. Blaine was thinking of him, and that was what he wanted, wasn’t it? That was the whole point of taking a step back, because lately whenever they were alone together it felt more like Blaine was thinking of himself than what Kurt might want. So the fact that Blaine missed him…well, it was a step in the right direction, he supposed, but it didn’t really do anything to fix their problem.

Kurt blew out a frustrated breath and deleted the text without answering. He snapped his phone shut, then opened it again, finger hovering over his inbox as he decided whether or not he should at least let Blaine know he’d gotten the text. Except he had no idea what to say; _miss you too_ felt a little too much like he was conceding something, and what else could he really say? _Thank you_ was hardly appropriate, considering, and any other answer would require more than a text message to convey.

He was so busy trying to decide how to start the conversation he knew they needed to have that he didn’t notice anyone walking into the previously deserted choir room, but when he heard a throat clear Kurt blushed and looked up. Puck was climbing the risers toward him, stopping two chairs away in the same row as Kurt and dropping into his seat.

“’Sup?” he said, and Kurt was used to Puck by now, so he didn’t even bother rolling his eyes.

Instead of answering Kurt nodded and turned back to his staring contest with his phone. It wasn’t as though he was going to discuss his love life with Puck, after all; they’d gone from tolerating one another to more or less friendly in the past year, certainly, but they still weren’t what Kurt would consider friends.

Still, Puck hung around with Finn a lot, which meant he was around all the time, and they’d bonded once or twice over Finn’s naïveté. So maybe they were better than acquaintances, but that didn’t mean Kurt felt comfortable telling Puck what was on his mind. He wasn’t even comfortable discussing his sex life with Mercedes, and she was his best friend. Granted, she didn’t have any practical experience, so while she’d probably be sympathetic, she wouldn’t be any help.

Puck had practical experience. Puck had more practical experience than most of the student body put together, as long as Kurt didn’t count Brittany and Santana. All of it was with women, though, and anyway, it wasn’t as though Puck would want to hear about Kurt’s sex life, even if Kurt was desperate enough to talk to him about it.

He was too busy blushing at the thought of trying to explain his problem to notice Puck moving again, but when Kurt felt something warm and solid press against his shoulder, he started and looked up to find Puck leaning into him. He was frowning down at Kurt’s phone as though he’d been expecting to find something other than a blank text message, and when Kurt raised an eyebrow Puck shrugged and sat back.

“You were staring at that thing so hard I thought maybe you were watching porn.”

Kurt blushed even harder at that, because even if he watched porn, he certainly wouldn’t do it in _school_. And sure, Puck would probably love to catch Kurt doing something completely tawdry and inappropriate right before Glee started, but he’d always assumed that Puck would be too grossed out by the sight of guys getting naked together to want to look at it.

“You do realize that if I were watching porn, it would involve two men.”

When Puck just shrugged and smirked at him Kurt’s other eyebrow went up, but before he could do more than open his mouth and then close it again, the choir room door opened. Kurt looked up to find Brittany and Santana walking through the door, pressed so close together Kurt was fairly sure they wouldn’t be able to fit so much as a sheet of paper between them. Brittany just smiled when she saw them, but Kurt caught the way Santana’s eyebrow arched at the sight of him and Puck sitting shoulder to shoulder, and he blushed all over again and looked away.

And he didn’t even know why he was blushing, because it wasn’t as though he and Puck were doing anything. It was _Puck_ , for one thing, and even if Kurt thought there was a chance he might be anything less than straight, Puck certainly hadn’t been coming onto him. If anything he was harassing Kurt, and granted, it wasn’t the mindless, violent harassment he’d been subjected to during freshman year, but it still didn’t mean anything.

“So what are you doing, then?”

Kurt blinked at the sound of Puck’s voice, still close enough to his ear to send a warm shiver down his spine. It was just because Puck had a nice voice; deep and rich and made for seduction, not that Kurt had spent any time thinking about it. But they sang together regularly, so he could hardly help noticing.

“Nothing,” Kurt answered, snapping his phone shut and pushing it back into his bag. “I hardly think it’s any of your business.”

Before Puck could answer the door opened again, and Kurt swallowed a relieved sigh when the choir room slowly began to fill up. At some point Puck moved back to his own seat, but Kurt was too busy focusing on not paying attention to him to notice when the solid warmth disappeared from his side. He didn’t look over at Puck again until Mr. Schuester turned up and started class, and when Kurt ventured a glance to his left he found Puck lounging in his chair, facing the front of the room and pretending he didn’t even know Kurt existed.

Which was exactly how it should be, Kurt reminded himself, then he turned his own attention back to Schue’s no doubt completely ridiculous theme for the week.

~

By the time he got home Kurt had forgotten all about Puck’s bizarre passing interest in his personal life. Or rather, his nonexistent porn-watching habits, and if he was hoping for recommendations he was in for a big disappointment. Kurt had more important things to worry about; namely what exactly he was supposed to say to Blaine.

He knew Blaine was waiting for him to call, that the text was his way of giving Kurt the time to think that he’d asked for. Except that it wasn’t, really; it was Blaine’s way of reminding Kurt that he was waiting, that he was being the bigger person and giving Kurt space while still managing to insinuate himself into Kurt’s thoughts. And Kurt had never been in a relationship before, so he wasn’t positive, but it felt a little…well, manipulative.

But Blaine was more experienced than him, and he certainly had more options than Kurt when it came to dating. So if Kurt gave _him_ time to think and he decided that he could do better after all, that would leave Kurt right back where he was before they met.

Worse, actually, because now he knew what he’d been missing, which meant the wait until he could finally escape Ohio would feel even longer. If Blaine decided that he didn’t really love Kurt after all, he wouldn’t just be losing a boyfriend, he’d be losing the only person who really understood him. There was no one else he could talk to about the things he and Blaine discussed, no one else who understood what it was like to be out in a town like Lima.

Giving that up just because Blaine could be a little selfish occasionally seemed short-sighted. Sex had never seemed very important to Kurt, after all, and since he’d finally gotten comfortable enough with Blaine to try it, he’d just assumed that his dissatisfaction with their sex life stemmed from his own hang-ups. And okay, there was the fact that Blaine seemed reluctant to compromise when it came to making sure Kurt was satisfied, but he was a guy, after all. Kurt had heard enough stories from the girls in Glee to know it kind of went with the territory.

He spent most of the evening in his room, staring at his French textbook without making so much as a dent in the homework that was due the next day. He tried to focus, but his mind kept wandering back to Blaine’s text, to two simple words that made Kurt feel at once guilt-ridden and sort of annoyed.

Maybe he should have stayed and tried to talk about it instead of just walking out on Blaine the way he did. They were supposed to be in love, after all, and according to his dad that meant sticking around even when things got tough. But his dad had also claimed that sex changed everything, and so far it hadn’t really changed much between him and Blaine.

Sex was…nice. It felt good and when Blaine wasn’t conveniently forgetting who’d topped the last two times, it was worth all the mess. The trouble was that Blaine ‘forgot’ more often than he remembered, which meant they’d had the same argument almost as many times as they’d had sex in the past few months.

Kurt scowled and slammed his French book shut, then he pushed himself off his bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found the kitchen empty; the last thing he wanted to do was pretend everything was fine for his father or Carole’s sake.

He pulled a pan out of the cabinet and set it on the stove, then he got the milk out of the fridge and poured some into the pan. The ritual of heating his nightly mug of warm milk was comforting enough to take his mind off Blaine for a few minutes, and by the time the steam was curling gently from the pan he’d almost forgotten why he was so upset in the first place.

He poured the milk into a mug and rinsed the pan, then he put it in the dishwasher and picked up his milk. He was almost to his room when he heard footsteps coming toward him, and Kurt looked up in time to watch Puck walking down the hall toward him.

“’Sup,” Puck said, familiar smirk firmly in place, and Kurt hated himself a little for the shiver that rolled down his spine.

He wasn’t sure when Puck had come over. Sometime after dinner, since Kurt was fairly sure he hadn’t actually be there _during_ dinner, but he hadn’t heard the doorbell, and he’d been too caught up in his own problems to pay attention to Finn’s plans for the evening. So seeing Puck walking down the hall toward him caught him off guard, and that was the only reason for the way his face heated up when Puck stopped in front of him.

“Puck,” Kurt said, his fingers wrapping a little more firmly around his mug. “I didn’t realize you were here.”

“You’ve been holed up in your room all night,” Puck said, glancing over Kurt’s shoulder as though maybe he thought there was something worth seeing in Kurt’s room. “You don’t have your boy stashed in there, do you? I didn’t think you had it in you, Kurt.”

“No,” Kurt snapped, his face flushing an even deeper shade of red, and he hoped it was dark enough in the hallway to keep Puck from noticing. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Yeah, you keep saying that.” Puck shrugged like he didn’t really care whether or not it was his business, then he glanced over Kurt’s shoulder toward his room again. “So what have you been doing in there all night, then? You’re not having a sexting marathon, are you? Because I’m pretty sure I still hold the record.”

He didn’t want to know, he really didn’t. Kurt scowled and turned away from Puck to head into his bedroom, but when he turned to close the door Puck was right behind him. He pushed his way past Kurt and looked around, and Kurt was fairly sure it was the first time Puck had ever been in his room, but he had no idea why Puck was suddenly so interested.

“What are you doing?”

“Dude, relax,” Puck said, and before Kurt could stop him he pulled out Kurt’s desk chair and swung it around to straddle it. “I’m just being friendly.”

“Friendly. Asking invasive questions about my personal life qualifies as friendly?” Kurt said, then he rolled his eyes at himself, because of course Puck would consider sexting a reasonable topic of conversation. “Don’t you have something better to do?”

Puck shrugged and draped his arms over the back of the chair, watching Kurt cross the room to set his mug down on his bedside table. “Well, I was hanging out with Finn until Rachel called and he kicked me out.”

The way he frowned told Kurt that he was actually offended that Finn had thrown him over for his girlfriend. Considering their history it was a little hard to swallow, but Kurt didn’t bother to point it out.

“What about Lauren?” he said instead, but when Puck scowled he knew it was a mistake.

“Whatever, dude.” Puck stood up, pushing Kurt’s chair out of the way and shoving his hands in his pockets. “I gotta go.”

“Puck,” Kurt said before he could stop himself, and he wasn’t even sure why he was trying to get Puck to stay, because they still weren’t friends. But it didn’t matter, because Puck didn’t even turn around, and a few seconds later Kurt heard the front door slam behind him.

~

It wasn’t that he felt guilty. He was just curious, because usually Kurt was right on top of the Glee-related gossip, but if something had happened with Lauren and Puck, he hadn’t heard about it. That was the only reason he texted Mercedes, and when she told him that Lauren had dumped Puck very publicly just a few days ago, Kurt knew the only reason he hadn’t heard about it was because he’d been so wrapped up in worrying about Blaine.

He didn’t feel _bad_ about it; Puck wasn’t his responsibility, for one thing, and anyway, he had his own relationship to deal with. But he still got to the choir room a little earlier than usual the next day, and when Puck walked in and sat down a chair away from him, Kurt ventured a small smile.

“No porn today?” Puck asked, raising an eyebrow, and Kurt flushed and glanced toward his bag before he turned back to Puck again.

“For your information, I don’t watch porn.”

“What, like, _ever_?”

Kurt shrugged and blushed even harder. “I just don’t see the point.”

Puck opened his mouth, then closed it again, and Kurt was fairly sure it was the first time he’d ever seen Puck rendered speechless. “Yeah, but you and your boy are hooking up, right? I mean, you’re not frigid or anything?”

“Oh my God,” Kurt said, because he so was not having this conversation with Puck, of all people. “That is absolutely none...”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s none of my business,” Puck interrupted, abandoning his chair to move closer to Kurt. “But you are, right? Because Finn made it sound like you were.”

For a second or two Kurt just blinked at him, then he shook his head and glanced toward the door to make sure they were still alone. “I don’t even want to know why you and Finn are discussing this. But if you must know, yes, Blaine and I have been intimate.”

“Is he any good at it?”

“What kind of question is that?” Kurt snapped, his cheeks heating up so much he was sure they were bright red.

Puck shrugged as though he thought it was a perfectly reasonable question, and in his mind it probably was. He knew for a fact that was the sort of thing Puck had no problem talking about, mainly because Kurt had heard him brag about his own prowess as often as everyone else who attended McKinley. So maybe the only reason Puck was asking was to give him another chance to brag about what a stud he allegedly was, but the fact remained that he was still the only person who had asked.

“The truth is we’re taking a bit of a break at the moment.”

“So he’s bad at it.”

Kurt frowned, but he didn’t deny it, because the truth was he didn’t know. He had no basis for comparison, so he had no way of knowing if his dissatisfaction with his relationship was because of his hang-ups, or because Blaine lacked skill.

He wanted to tell Puck that they weren’t on a break because of their sex life, but that would be a lie. Besides, Puck was _asking_ , and Kurt had no idea why, but it seemed silly to pass on the offer just because it was...well, Puck. “Are you sure you want to hear about this?”

“Dude, give me some credit. I’m not going to freak out just because you’ve both got dicks.”

It seemed to Kurt as though there would have been a time when Puck would have freaked out _precisely_ because of that. He opened his mouth to say so, then stopped and closed it again. Because the truth was that Finn had freaked out over the guy-on-guy thing, and Azimio and plenty of the other jocks bullied him because he was gay. Karofsky was a special case, of course, but the truth was that for all the mindless bullying Puck had put him through, none of it had ever been because he was gay.

Puck seemed to consider it his duty to torment all the losers at McKinley, regardless of _why_ they were considered losers, and Kurt being gay hadn’t entered into his brand of mindless violence. That was the thing: it was always mindless, as though he never stopped to think about it, and once he finally did, he just...stopped.

Kurt frowned thoughtfully for a few more seconds, but just when he’d decided to take the plunge and tell Puck what the problem was, the choir room door opened. He swallowed a sigh as he watched Tina and Mike walk in, telling himself he wasn’t sorry he’d missed his chance to talk about it to _someone_. He should be talking to Blaine; it was their problem, after all, and it wasn’t as though Puck knew anything about gay sex.

Even if he did, the last place Kurt wanted to have this conversation was in the choir room; he didn’t want the rest of Glee gossiping about his relationship, and there was no telling who Puck would tell if Kurt did confide in him. He was already discussing Kurt with Finn, as though that made any sense, and Kurt really didn’t need Rachel getting wind of any kind of strife between New Directions and the Warblers.

So he wasn’t disappointed when the choir room filled up and rehearsal began, and he pushed thoughts of Puck and Blaine and his pathetic excuse for a sex life into the back of his mind and focused on the choreography they were supposed to be learning. But Puck was still right _there_ , next to him every time Kurt happened to glance over, even once they left their seats to dance, and every time Kurt looked, Puck was looking right back at him.

~

By the end of rehearsal Kurt was so flustered from trying not to notice Puck noticing him that it took him longer than usual to gather his things, and by the time he swung his bag over his shoulder and pulled his phone out the others had all gone.

He sighed and reached into his bag for his phone before he swung the bag over his shoulder, then he headed out of the choir room and into the hall. He glanced down at his phone as he walked, and when he caught sight of the text notification Kurt’s heart sank. Kurt swallowed and flipped his phone open, pressing the ‘okay’ button and blinking down at Blaine’s latest text.

_Hi._

So they were back to single words, Kurt thought, not quite rolling his eyes. He knew what Blaine wasn’t saying: “I’m thinking about you and I hope you’re thinking about me”, or maybe just, “I’m not willing to let this go without having my say.” And he felt bad about not calling Blaine – he did – but he still hadn’t figured out what to say. He was going to have to figure it out soon, he knew that, but until he did it seemed sort of pointless to pretend that everything was fine.

Kurt closed his phone and looked up, blinking when he spotted Puck leaning against the lockers near the choir room watching him. He’d expected Puck to be long gone along with everyone else. What he didn’t expect was for Puck to be laying in wait for Kurt to come out of the choir room, pushing himself off the lockers as soon as Kurt looked up, like he’d just been waiting.

For _Kurt_ , as though that made any sense.

“So how bad is he?” Puck asked as soon as Kurt reached him, falling into step next to Kurt as he made his way down the hall to the parking lot.

Kurt blushed again and looked around the hallway, but there weren’t any other members of Glee lurking around eavesdropping. That didn’t mean there weren’t still plenty of other people in the school, though, and Kurt would just as soon none of them overheard this particular conversation.

“I’m not talking about this here.”

Puck nodded and kept walking, following Kurt out of the school and all the way to his car, because apparently ‘I’m not talking about this here’ meant he expected Kurt to talk about it elsewhere. Kurt frowned, but he unlocked the Navigator and slid behind the wheel, watching Puck slide into the passenger seat and close the door to lounge on Kurt’s upholstery like he belonged there.

“This better?”

For a second Kurt just looked at him, frown firmly in place as he tried to work out what Puck’s angle could be. Because they weren’t friends, they’d never been friends and as far as Kurt knew, Puck was fine with that. They got along, sure, but they certainly didn’t have heart-to-hearts over mochas or warm milk or any other beverage, and Kurt had no idea why Puck suddenly cared so much about his relationship.

“Why do you even want to know?”

Puck shrugged again, glancing out the windshield for a second before he turned back to Kurt. “You’ve been acting kind of weird all week. Like, bitchier than usual. I figured there must be something up, and when Finn said your boy hadn’t been around lately, I put two and two together.”

None of which shed a bit of light on the question of why Puck suddenly cared so much if there was something going on with Kurt, and the fact that Puck appeared to be the only one of his admittedly limited social group who’d noticed didn’t make him feel much better. It was tempting to make a sarcastic remark about the plausibility of Puck putting two and two together and managing to come up with four, considering his math attendance record. But the fact was that he _had_ guessed the problem, or at least part of it, and he still had a lot more experience than Kurt with this sort of thing.

“Fine, if it means that much to you, I’ll tell you. But you can’t repeat any of this, even to Finn. Especially to Finn. Understand?”

“Yeah, yeah, just spit it out, dude. What, is he a lousy kisser? He’s not trying to get you to do stuff you don’t want to, is he?” Puck asked, sitting up a little, and when his eyes flashed dark for a second Kurt felt it in his stomach.

“No, of course not,” Kurt answered, frowning at the thought. “The truth is that I’m just not sure we’re compatible.”

“What are you talking about? He is into dudes, right?”

“A brief flirtation with bisexuality aside, yes, Blaine’s definitely gay.” Kurt let out a deep breath, willing the color in his cheeks to subside as he stole another glance at Puck. “The problem is that we share the same…preferences.”

“So, what, you like the same stuff? That’s supposed to be a good thing.”

Kurt shook his head, irritated and not a little embarrassed to be having this conversation with anyone, let alone McKinley’s resident Lothario.

“You don’t understand. The problem is that we both prefer the same position.” When Puck kept staring at him with a blank expression, Kurt sighed and ran a hand over his face. “I’ll try again in a language you might understand. We both prefer to play catcher.”

He saw the moment when Puck got it, and he wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or just wish the ground would open up and swallow him whole so he could forget this entire conversation ever happened. And Puck wasn’t _saying_ anything, which meant either he wasn’t as okay with the whole gay thing as he pretended, or he was busy trying to wrap his mind around exactly how pathetic Kurt was.

“We’ve tried taking turns,” Kurt said, mostly to fill up the unbearable silence, “but Blaine somehow conveniently ‘forgets’ every time it’s my turn. I’ve tried discussing the problem, but somehow he always manages to get his way. And let’s face it, I don’t exactly have a basis for comparison, so maybe he’s right and I’m blowing the whole thing out of proportion.”

“Hold up a second,” Puck said, and Kurt snapped his mouth shut and pressed his lips together. “He said that?”

“Said what?” Kurt asked, and he sort of wanted to pinch himself, because Puck seemed to be taking the conversation seriously, so he had to be hallucinating.

“That you were making too big a deal out of it. Dude, no offense to your boy, but if he’s not doing it for you, just dump his ass and find someone who will.”

“Oh, that’s rich, coming from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Puck asked, as though he was actually offended. As though it were possible to offend someone like Puck, and Kurt rolled his eyes and glanced out the windshield toward the mostly deserted parking lot.

“It means that you have your pick of practically every woman in the greater Midwest region. My options are quite a bit more limited. Besides, I can’t just break up with him because the sex is less than ideal.”

“Yeah, you can. People break up for way dumber stuff all the time.”

Puck’s expression went dark again, and Kurt was almost sure he was thinking of Lauren and the semi-public humiliation she’d apparently subjected him to when she ended their -- admittedly unorthodox -- relationship. He felt a pull of something like guilt in his chest, but he ignored it and focused on the conversation at hand.

“I don’t want to break up with Blaine. He loves me. He’s just...a little self-involved sometimes.”

For a moment Puck just looked at him, but before Kurt could decide whether it was pity or scorn, he shook his head and leaned back against the seat again. “Then there’s only one option. You need a third.”

“Excuse me?” Kurt said, positive that Puck couldn’t mean what it sounded like he meant. But it was _Puck_ , so really, Kurt should have known better.

“Look, everybody knows that Brittany’s it for Santana, right? But Britt’s kind of a cockslut. So she hooks up with Santana and she keeps a guy on the side, and sometimes they all hook up together. That way everybody’s getting what they want, and nobody gets hurt.”

According to Mercedes, Santana wasn’t as satisfied with the arrangement as Puck seemed to think she was, but Kurt didn’t point it out. He didn’t really care what Brittany and Santana did behind closed doors, and anyway it had nothing to do with him and Blaine.

“Even if I thought that was a good idea, candidates aren’t exactly lining up. I don’t even know any other gay people,” Kurt said, shoving the thought of Karofsky as far back in his head as it would go, “and Blaine…well, let’s say that present company excluded, his judgment when it comes to potential partners is less than stellar.”

Puck didn’t answer, but he was _looking_ at Kurt, one eyebrow raised and the longer the silence stretched out between them, the more Kurt was sure he was hallucinating. Because it was impossible, but it almost seemed as though… “You can’t be serious.”

“Why not?”

Instantly Kurt’s whole face felt as though it was about to burst into flame, but the images were already flashing in his mind and there was at least a part of him that didn’t hate the idea. He clamped down hard on the thought of Puck and Blaine and…dear God, _him_ , all together, because there was no way Puck was offering _that_.

“You’re not gay, for one thing,” Kurt answered, and really, that was the best reason he could think of to end this conversation right now.

“Dude, fucking another guy doesn’t make me gay,” Puck said, draping himself a little further against Kurt’s upholstery and looking so damn _sexy_ that Kurt knew he was doing it on purpose. “It just makes me an opportunist.”

He wondered briefly where Puck had heard that, because it didn’t seem like the kind of thought he’d come up with on his own. But it didn’t matter, because it wasn’t going to happen, no matter how much a part of Kurt really, really wanted it to.

That part of him didn’t get a vote, because the idea of Puck thinking he could be intimate with another guy – _two_ other guys – and still call himself heterosexual was offensive on a level Kurt knew he’d never understand. He knew it wasn’t worth trying to explain it, and anyway he just wanted this entire conversation to be over. It was a bad idea to confide in Puck to begin with, and the sooner Kurt got Puck out of his car, the sooner he could forget any of this had ever happened.

Kurt took a deep breath and did his best to avoid looking at Puck. “As much as I appreciate the offer, that won’t be necessary.”

He expected Puck to be offended, but instead he just shrugged and sat up. He leaned across the console, and for one panicked second Kurt was sure Puck was going to kiss him. But he stopped a foot away from Kurt, just looking for a second, and Kurt’s heart hammered hard in his chest. “Suit yourself, dude. But I’ll be around if you change your mind.”

A second later Puck was gone, slamming the Navigator door and disappearing back into the school. Kurt sat there for a long time, staring in the direction Puck had gone and wondering what the hell had just happened.

~

It took Kurt until Saturday to work up the courage to talk to Blaine. He tried not to spend the rest of the week thinking about Puck’s offer, but that was nearly impossible when Puck was _there_ all the time. In Glee, in the parking lot, even in Kurt’s house, and he couldn’t prove it, but it seemed as though Puck was spending a lot more time with Finn than usual since he propositioned Kurt.

He hadn’t shown up yet by the time Kurt left to meet Blaine on Saturday morning, but Kurt knew it was only a matter of time. He got to the coffee shop early, ordering the biggest mocha they had to fortify his nerves before he found a table near the back of the room. And he wasn’t thinking about Puck, because he was here to get his relationship back on track before there wasn’t a relationship to save. So what if he was less than satisfied with the sex; that was the least important part of their relationship, as far as he was concerned, and if Blaine didn’t have a problem with it then Kurt was making a big deal about nothing.

When someone slid into the chair across from him Kurt looked up, taking in Blaine’s perfect smile and the perfect way his hair curled just so around his forehead. He was sweet and romantic and handsome, he knew about fashion and he didn’t mind that Kurt didn’t care about sports. He ticked every box on Kurt’s mental list of what his perfect boyfriend should be, so the problem had to be Kurt’s fault.

It certainly wasn’t something that could be solved by adding another person to the mix, especially not someone like Puck. Kurt blushed at the thought and shifted in his chair, shoving a sudden, unwelcome mental image of Puck as far back in his mind as it would go.

“Hi,” Blaine said, his perfect smile faltering just a little at the look on Kurt’s face.

“Hi. Thanks for meeting me,” Kurt said, and he definitely was not picturing Puck naked. “I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch. I just needed a little time.”

“Of course,” Blaine answered, as though he understood perfectly Kurt’s need for time. Kurt knew that wasn’t true, because Blaine had sent him plenty of texts, mostly to remind Kurt that he was waiting. Still, he was trying to understand, and that was probably better than other guys their age would do.

Blaine started to reach across the table, then he paused as though he wasn’t sure if he should. And that was Kurt’s fault too, so he reached out before Blaine could take his hand back and slid their fingers together. That was all it took for Blaine’s smile to turn right back up to full wattage, and Kurt felt something in his chest uncoil.

“Listen, Kurt, are we okay here? The way you left…well, I have to admit I wasn’t sure if I’d be hearing from you again.”

“I’m sorry,” Kurt said, because he still didn’t have any experience, but he was fairly sure he’d handled this whole situation all wrong. “I just had a moment of weakness, that’s all. Everything’s fine.”

“Kurt, if there’s something bothering you, we should talk about it,” Blaine said, squeezing Kurt’s hand where it was still wrapped in his. And he really was the perfect boyfriend, so the fact that Kurt sort of felt like throwing up didn’t make any sense at all.

“It’s nothing.” And it really wasn’t anything to worry about; it was his problem, and the sooner he learned to ignore it, the sooner they could get back to the way things were.

He could tell Blaine wasn’t buying it when he let out a sigh, his smile shifting to the exasperated, affectionate one that told Kurt Blaine still thought of him as incredibly naive sometimes. He probably even had a point, but that didn’t make Kurt feel any better.

“This is about sex, isn’t it?”

The moment he said it Kurt’s whole face heated up, and he glanced around to make sure no one was listening to them. It was early enough that the coffee shop wasn’t that full yet, though, and when Kurt didn’t see anyone he knew lurking around he forced his gaze back to Blaine.

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter that much to me. We knew this might be an issue when we discovered that we shared the same…well, _preference_. It’s nothing we can’t work through.”

“No,” Blaine said, shaking his head and for a moment Kurt wondered if this was the moment when Blaine broke up with him. “I’ve been selfish, you’re right. I thought I wouldn’t mind being versatile, but obviously I haven’t been trying hard enough.”

He couldn’t believe they were having this conversation at all, let alone in public. The fact that he’d already had essentially the same conversation with Puck just made it even worse, and Kurt was sure his blush was going to become a permanent feature.

Still, Blaine had just said he was willing to try harder, which just went to show that Puck didn't know what he was talking about. It showed just how ridiculous it was to take relationship advice from Puck in the first place. Kurt laughed aloud at the thought, blushing even harder when Blaine flashed a puzzled smile.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing, I was just remembering something Puck said."

"You spoke to Puck about this?" Blaine asked. "Finn's friend?"

"I'd hardly call it a conversation," Kurt lied, trying not to remember the way Puck's eyes had gone dark when he thought Blaine was pressuring him. "Anyway, it's Puck. He barely speaks English on a good day. Nothing he says makes any sense."

"So what did he say?"

Kurt blushed again and considered trying to change the subject, but he knew what Blaine was like when he wanted something. That was how they’d gotten into this mess in the first place, Kurt reminded himself, rolling his eyes and pulling his hand out of Blaine's to curl it around his cup.

"He suggested that perhaps the solution to our problem would be to add a third party to the mix. Specifically him."

"He actually offered?" Blaine blinked, then his expression went sort of soft, as though he was picturing it. And Kurt could hardly blame him, because neither of them were _blind_ , but fantasizing about another man wasn't going to help fix their problem.

"It's Puck. He has serious boundary issues. I told him the whole idea was absurd."

“Of course,” Blaine said, nodding and picking up his own coffee. “But you have to admit it’s an interesting offer.”

“’Interesting’ isn’t the word I’d use,” Kurt said, but his cheeks flushed again, and he clamped down hard on the memory of Puck in his car just a few days ago, leaning across the console as though he was thinking about kissing Kurt. He wondered what he would have done if Puck had tried; he wouldn’t cheat on Blaine, certainly, but he couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to kiss Puck all the same. “You’re not actually considering this, are you?”

“No,” Blaine answered, then he looked down at his coffee. “No, of course not. Still.”

“Oh my God, you are.”

“I’m not,” Blaine said, but even the barista could probably tell that he was lying from halfway across the room. “It’s just...the idea is pretty hot, don’t you think? And he does have a point about it solving our problem.”

“It’s _Puck_ ,” Kurt said again, and if Blaine noticed that he was avoiding the question he didn’t say. “There’s no telling what kind of communicable diseases he’s spreading along with his wild oats.”

“Okay.” Blaine nodded and leaned forward, plastering his most charming smile on his face as he reached for Kurt’s hand again. “Let’s just forget it even came up. I love you, Kurt. I just want you to be happy.”

Kurt tried to smile back at him, but between the coffee and the warm press of Blaine’s fingers his hand felt a little clammy, and try as he might, he couldn’t get the memory of Puck’s smirk out of his mind. And all he’d wanted to hear was that Blaine was going to do whatever he could to make Kurt happy, but now that he’d actually said the words out loud, Kurt didn’t feel any better.

~

It was Blaine who brought it up again, later that afternoon. They were alone in his room, listening to the new Tori Amos CD and flipping through the magazines they’d picked up at the book store that afternoon. Blaine’s parents were right downstairs, so Kurt wasn’t even thinking about picking up where they’d left off the last time he was here, but when Blaine pulled the _Vogue_ he’d been thumbing through out of his hand Kurt frowned and looked up at him.

“So when you say Puck offered…he specifically meant sex, right?”

Kurt reached up to rub at his temples, eyes closed for a second and wishing he could take back the moment when he’d told Blaine about Puck’s offer. If he’d thought for a second Blaine would even consider it…but it was clear Kurt wasn’t enough for him or they wouldn’t have a problem in the first place.

“Of course he meant sex. What else would he mean?”

“He could have been suggesting a polyamorous relationship,” Blaine said, shrugging when Kurt opened his eyes to frown at him again. “There are a surprising number of people who have perfectly satisfying emotional relationships with more than one person.”

Kurt thought of Brittany and Santana and their bizarre arrangement with Artie. There was nothing about it that seemed particularly healthy or satisfying to him, and he couldn’t imagine Blaine ever being willing to take a back seat to another guy.

“I highly doubt Puck’s ever heard the word ‘polyamory’,” Kurt said. “Anyway, he doesn’t do relationships. He has sex. End of story.”

He thought of Lauren and the amount of time Puck spent following her around, but surely that didn’t count as a romantic relationship. In the end they were mostly just friends, kind of like him and Mercedes. Maybe that wasn’t what Puck had wanted from Lauren, but he’d never seemed to get much of a vote, even in the end.

When Kurt realized he was frowning about the demise of Puck’s quasi-relationship with Lauren he sighed and focused on Blaine again. “Trust me, Puck is not interested in a relationship. He’s not even gay.”

“I thought you still didn’t believe in bisexuality.”

“I don’t,” Kurt said, though he really wasn’t interested in having that argument again. “The word he used was ‘opportunist’.”

Blaine nodded as though he was making his mind up about something, then he smiled and reached for Kurt’s hand. “You know I love you.”

“Of course,” he answered automatically, but his stomach was twisted into knots and he was fairly sure he wasn’t going to like whatever Blaine was about to say.

“And you love me. We’re good together, Kurt. We understand each other.” Blaine paused and took a breath, and for a second Kurt thought he might burst into song, but instead he reached out and ran the thumb of his free hand along Kurt’s jaw. “So if we need a little help in the bedroom, our relationship is strong enough to handle it.”

Kurt’s eyes narrowed and he pulled his hand out of Blaine’s. “You just want to have sex with Puck.”

“Of course I do,” Blaine said, grinning like it would be ridiculous for Kurt to expect otherwise. “It’s the classic straight guy fantasy. And don’t try to tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about, because I know about your crush on Finn.”

It wasn’t the first time Kurt regretted confessing his pathetic, long-dead crush on Finn to his boyfriend. Every time Blaine brought it up Kurt wished he’d never said anything; he’d assumed at the time that Blaine would realize it was a sensitive topic and not tease him about it, but he should have known better.

He didn’t bother pointing out that fantasizing about Finn carrying his books and smiling at him the way he smiled at Rachel was a lot different than thinking about having sex with Puck. About letting Puck put his hands on him, strong and warm and Kurt already knew exactly what they’d feel like, because Puck had put his hands on Kurt plenty of times before.

“We could just try it,” Blaine added when Kurt didn’t answer, his smile telling Kurt that he knew he’d pushed a little too far by bringing up Finn. “Just once. You said he’s only in it for the sex, so he won’t care. We’ll just try it once, and if it’s too weird we’ll never talk about it again.”

“I am not telling Puck that we’re taking him up on his offer. I have to see him practically every day. There’s no way I could ever look him in the eye again.”

Blaine shrugged, then he inched close enough to rest a hand on Kurt’s thigh and begin rubbing little circles against his jeans in what Kurt assumed was supposed to be a seductive fashion. “You don’t have to. I’ll talk to him.”

One thing Kurt could say without reservation: Blaine was definitely proactive. When he had his sights set on something he just went for it, and it had gotten him in trouble a few times since Kurt had known him. So he had no doubt that Blaine would be more than happy to talk to Puck; what he couldn’t say was how Puck would react if it was Blaine who approached him.

He thought about letting Blaine do it and hoping that it would be enough to make Puck change his mind. But there was always the chance they’d decide they didn’t really need Kurt in the mix after all, and if he was going to risk his relationship he at least wanted to be there for it. The thought of seeing Puck looking at him with that hungry expression of his again didn’t even enter into the picture.

“No, I should do it,” Kurt said, forcing a smile he didn’t really feel. “He made the offer to me, after all. It’s only polite.”

The smile Blaine gave him was a little strange, but a second later he was leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to the corner of Kurt’s mouth.

“If that’s what you want,” he said, as though any of this was Kurt’s idea. “I love you, Kurt.”

“I love you too,” Kurt answered automatically, swallowing a sigh and closing his eyes to focus on kissing Blaine back.

~

It took Kurt nearly a week to work up the nerve to talk to Puck. Blaine didn’t pressure him about it, but it was there all the same every time they spoke, hanging in the air between them. Blaine never even mentioned Puck’s name, but Kurt could tell he was thinking about it.

Kurt was thinking about it too; he could hardly help it when every time he turned around Puck was there, watching him like he was waiting for the moment Kurt gave in and told Puck he wanted him. Knowing that Puck was expecting it should have made the words easier to say, but whenever Kurt thought about just getting it over with he found himself blushing furiously and turning in the opposite direction.

He probably would have chickened out altogether if it weren’t for Finn. Or rather, the fact that Finn was Puck’s best friend, which meant Puck spent more time at their house than he did at his own. Lately it felt that way, at any rate, and really Kurt should have known better than to bring Blaine home with him when there was any chance of Puck showing up.

But Blaine was still his boyfriend, and that meant they did things like hang out in his room listening to music and carefully talking around the subject of set lists as they shared bits of gossip from one another’s show choirs. It was sort of strange, the way they avoided giving away any performance secrets without even discussing it, and Kurt had a feeling it should bother him that Blaine didn’t trust him now that he wasn’t a Warbler. Then again, Kurt didn’t trust Blaine with New Directions’ set list any more than Rachel did, so he didn’t have much room to complain.

Blaine had just caught himself before he said one of their song names out loud – something horrible with a rap in it somewhere, Kurt was sure – when they heard the front door slam and then footsteps on the stairs. And Kurt knew those footsteps, loud and impossibly large, so he wasn’t surprised when Finn appeared at his door a second later. Only he wasn’t alone, and when Kurt spotted Puck with his letterman jacket hanging open over his chest, his stomach performed a perfect _pirouette à la seconde_.

“Puck, hi,” Blaine said, sitting up on the edge of Kurt’s bed and sounding far too enthusiastic, considering Kurt was fairly sure Blaine and Puck had never actually spoken before. Even Finn seemed to notice, because he sort of frowned, then glanced over at Kurt, and this whole situation had to be one endless nightmare.

“Finn, how are you?” Blaine added after a beat, but the damage was clearly done, at least if the look on Puck’s face was anything to go by.

The smirk was nothing new; Kurt had seen that expression a thousand times before. But it hadn’t been directed at Kurt all that often in the past, and Puck’s eyes were doing that dark-and-smoldering thing that went straight to Kurt’s groin. And he didn’t even _like_ sex all that much, so he shouldn’t be getting turned on just by the way Puck was looking at him.

He blushed and cleared his throat, dragging his gaze away from Puck to cast a warning look in Blaine’s direction before he lost his mind completely and invited Finn to make it a foursome.

“What are you guys doing?” Finn asked in that voice that told Kurt he really didn’t want to know, which was just stupid, because they were both fully dressed.

“We were discussing Sectionals, if you must know,” Kurt said, lifting his chin in what he hoped was a dignified way. “But Blaine was just getting ready to leave. It is a school night, after all.”

He didn’t look over to see Blaine’s reaction to that. It was the first time he’d ever kicked his boyfriend out; it was the first time he’d ever wanted Blaine to leave, and if Blaine asked him why he wouldn’t even be able to say. But Blaine didn’t ask; instead he stood up, still smiling as he gathered his bag and slid his coat on.

“Well, see you, Blaine,” Finn said, waving in his direction before he continued down the hall to his room. Puck stood there for another beat, just looking at Kurt, then at Blaine, before he smirked again and disappeared after Finn.

By the time they were both gone Kurt’s heart was hammering so hard he was sure all of them could hear it, but he managed to pull himself together enough to follow Blaine down the stairs to the front door. When they got there Blaine turned to face him, glancing toward the stairs again before he looked at Kurt.

“You haven’t spoken to him yet?”

“I haven’t had a chance. Finn’s always lurking around,” Kurt said. And it was sort of true, but if he wanted to get Puck alone he knew he could.

Blaine made a funny little humming sound, smiling in a way that made Kurt feel like a child, which was strangely unsettling when Blaine leaned in a second later and kissed him. Soft and slow and perfect, exactly the way Kurt had imagined kisses would be when he was younger and dreaming of moments like this, and all he could think about was whether or not Puck was going to come downstairs and see them.

Not that Puck would care if they were kissing. He was the one who’d offered to have sex with them both, after all, so he had to expect he’d be seeing this sort of thing. Kurt flushed and ducked his head, breaking the kiss and catching himself before he glanced toward the stairs.

“I’ll talk to him.”

Blaine just smiled again, but it was brighter this time, less _you’re ridiculous but I love you anyway_ and more _how’d I get so lucky?_ A heavy ball of something like dread settled in Kurt’s stomach, and he forced a tight-lipped smile and pulled the door open to let Blaine out.

He waved when Blaine turned back halfway down the walk to smile again, then Kurt shut the door and sagged against it for a second. But he couldn’t stay there all night, if for no other reason than because eventually Puck was going to go home, and he’d need to use the front door to do it. Kurt let out a frustrated breath and pushed himself off the door, then he hurried up the stairs to his room before Finn or Puck emerged from whatever video game marathon they were no doubt already embroiled in.

Any other night he might wander down to Finn’s room to watch for awhile, listening to the two of them cheerfully insult one another and taking sides as it amused him. But that was before Puck had offered to serve as...Kurt wasn’t even sure what to call it, exactly, but he was fairly sure normal relationships didn’t involve inviting another man into bed to...service the two people who were supposed to be in love.

Kurt blushed all the way to the roots of his hair, slipping into his room and closing the door and looking up to find Puck sitting on the edge of his bed. He blinked, but Puck was still there, stubbornly real and smirking in a way that told Kurt he already knew the answer to the question he’d come in here to ask.

“What are you doing?” Kurt asked, the words coming out in a strange, whispered hiss. “Finn’s right...”

“Relax, I just came by to pick up a game I lent him,” Puck interrupted, then he leaned back on Kurt’s bed, propped up on his hands and looking ridiculously, impossibly sexy. So maybe Blaine was right and Kurt did have a straight guy kink, because Blaine was sweet and romantic and handsome, but looking at him never made Kurt’s insides feel like they were on fire.

“Finn thinks I left when your boy did.”

“Then maybe you should leave before he finds you still here and wonders why,” Kurt said, but his voice was high and tight and he knew Puck could hear how nervous he was.

“In a minute.” Puck leaned forward then, elbows on his knees and watching Kurt like he was some kind of large predator and Kurt was his very small, very helpless prey. “So did you and your boy work out that problem yet?”

It was tempting to say yes, that everything was perfect and they were more in love than ever, that they couldn’t be happier together and they definitely didn’t need Puck’s brand of help. Instead Kurt shook his head, blushing all the way to the roots of his hair and glancing down at the floor.

“No.”

“There’s not something wrong with him, is there? I mean, beside the fact that he can’t seal the deal,” Puck said, and Kurt expected another smirk, but when he looked up Puck was serious. “He seemed kind of...I don’t know. Drunk or something.”

The corners of Kurt’s lips twitched, but he killed the smile and shook his head. He considered defending Blaine’s honor, claiming that he could ‘seal the deal’ just fine when he put his mind to it. Except the fact remained that Blaine was the one who wanted to go through with this so he wouldn’t _have_ to seal the deal. Kurt, on the other hand, had done it plenty of times, and just once he’d like to know what it felt like to be completely and totally satisfied after sex.

The idea of getting that from _Puck_ instead of someone who loved him made his stomach turn cartwheels, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

“No, he’s just...” Kurt paused, trying out and discarding ‘idiotic’ and also ‘socially retarded’ before he settled on the right word. “...enthusiastic.”

Puck stood up, unfolding himself slowly from Kurt’s bed and sort of stalking forward, stopping just inside Kurt’s personal space to lean in and plant a hand on the door Kurt was still leaning against. “So does that mean you told him about my offer?”

Kurt nodded, gaze fixed on Puck’s shoulder as he tried to find a way to tell Puck that the answer was yes without losing the few shreds of dignity he was still managing to cling to. “He was intrigued.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?” Kurt asked, trying for a frown but he had a feeling it looked less annoyed and more terrified.

“I mean,” Puck said, then his finger landed under Kurt’s chin, lifting his face to look at Puck, and when their eyes met Kurt felt his knees quiver. “Are _you_ into it? Because I’m not in unless you are.”

There were a lot of ways Kurt could take that. Puck could mean that he wasn’t interested in forcing something on Kurt if he wasn’t a hundred percent sure he wanted it. Or it could be his way of taking back the offer, especially now that he’d seen Blaine...well, not exactly at his best. It could mean a lot of things, but Puck was still looking at him with those dark eyes of his, and there was a part of Kurt that could almost believe that what Puck meant was that he wanted _Kurt_.

It was ridiculous; Kurt knew that. He’d said himself that this was about opportunity for him, nothing more. He wasn’t even gay, he was just...versatile. Not too proud to pass up the opportunity for sex with no strings attached, and there were no emotions involved, so it didn’t matter to him that the anatomy didn’t quite line up with his usual preferences.

Kurt had made out with Brittany, after all, and granted, he couldn’t imagine having sex with her, but he supposed it was sort of the same thing. He swallowed a rush of what definitely wasn’t disappointment and lifted his chin higher, pulling out of Puck’s grip in the process. “I’m in. But there are rules.”

For another second Puck just looked at him, smoldering and intense and Kurt thought for sure this was the moment when he’d laugh and take it all back. Tell Kurt it had just been a bad joke, maybe, that he wouldn’t touch either of them even if there was money involved. Then Puck did laugh, but before Kurt had a chance to panic he was taking a step back and reaching up to rub at the back of his neck.

“Okay, Princess, let’s hear your rules.”

The truth was that he and Blaine hadn’t actually discussed any rules. It seemed as though there should be some, though, so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “We use condoms at all times. No exceptions.”

He left out the part about not knowing where Puck had been, but he had a feeling it was implied. Puck shrugged and nodded anyway, and Kurt congratulated himself on successfully gaining at least some sort of control over the situation.

“That it?”

“No.” Kurt pressed his lips together hard for a second, then he opened his mouth before he could talk himself out of it. “No kissing.”

He expected Puck to ask why, maybe, or to shrug the way he had over the condoms and move on. Because Puck was in this for the free sex, and making out with another guy was, by some definitions, even gayer than an opportunistic fuck. So he wasn’t expecting the way Puck frowned, the way his eyes went sort of stormy for a second before he shook it off and said, “If that’s the way you want it.”

Kurt wasn’t sure he wanted any of this at all, but he knew if he said so out loud Puck would call the whole thing off. He’d as good as said so just a few minutes ago, and for some reason Kurt couldn’t explain, the thought of Puck saying forget it and walking out made Kurt’s heart clench hard in his chest.

“Anything else?” Puck said after a beat, and when Kurt shook his head he took a step forward.

Kurt’s back was still pressed against the door, and when Puck swayed close he closed his eyes against the sudden rush of heat and told himself that Puck wasn’t going to kiss him. He wasn’t, because that wasn’t what this was about, and when he felt Puck’s breath on his ear instead of his mouth, Kurt told himself he wasn’t disappointed.

“Good.”

The word sent a shudder straight down Kurt’s spine, and he swallowed hard and pressed back even harder against the door to keep himself upright. He forced his eyes open again, staring back at Puck and hoping he looked more confident than he felt.

“Blaine’s parents are going out of town this weekend. If you’re available.”

Puck’s eyes went dark again, flickering with something Kurt didn’t recognize, but he had a feeling it was desire. “I’m gonna need a ride.”

Kurt stifled what would have no doubt been a hysterical laugh and nodded. “That won’t be a problem.”

“Good,” Puck said again, swaying impossibly closer, and just for a second Kurt thought – hoped – that Puck might try to kiss him. Then he reached out and eased Kurt away from the door, and Kurt hated himself a little for the way his body reacted to Puck’s touch. “See you around, Kurt.”

Then he was gone, taking his video game and what was left of Kurt’s dignity with him, and Kurt collapsed onto his bed to stare at the ceiling and wonder what he’d just gotten himself into.

~

When Kurt pulled up in front of Puck’s house on Saturday he had no idea what to expect. For Puck to climb into the Navigator as quickly as he could, maybe, then sink down into the passenger seat and do his best not to be spotted by anyone who knew either of them. What he didn’t expect was for Puck to take his time, stopping to admire Kurt’s – admittedly fabulous – car before he swung into the passenger seat and stretched out against the upholstery.

Granted, he’d sat in Kurt’s car right in the school parking lot not that long ago, but it had been the end of the day, and most of the student body was already gone. And maybe it was a little silly to expect Puck to worry about being spotted with the gay kid, considering what they were about to do, but Kurt couldn’t help bracing for the inevitable gay freak out anyway.

“Dude, relax,” Puck said, gaze wandering up and down Kurt’s frame. Like he was admiring the view, and that was just ridiculous. “You sure you’re down with this?”

As soon as he said it Kurt pictured going down on Puck – pictured Puck returning the favor – and blushed so hard his ears burned. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, you look it,” Puck answered, but he couldn’t tell if Puck was flirting or calling Kurt’s bluff.

But it didn’t matter what Puck meant, so Kurt ignored him and pulled back onto the street, pointing the Navigator out of town and toward Blaine’s house. It was a drive he’d made so many times now that he didn’t even have to think about it, and suddenly he wished they were meeting somewhere neutral, somewhere he’d never been so that he’d have something to occupy his thoughts other than the warm body currently sprawled in his passenger seat.

“You know, if you’re freaked out about the whole two guys at once thing, we could blow off your boy and go back to my place. My mom and sister are out with my Nana; they won’t be back for hours.”

He couldn’t tell if Puck was serious by the way he was smirking at Kurt, but he’d been serious about the whole threesome suggestion, as it turned out, so Kurt figured he probably was. “I am not cheating on Blaine.”

Puck’s only answer was a harsh laugh, but when Kurt narrowed his eyes and snapped, “What?” Puck just shrugged and turned to look out the window.

They rode in silence for awhile, Kurt’s fingers clenched around the steering wheel and Puck drumming out a beat on his thigh in time to the song on the radio. And Kurt was keeping his eyes on the road, but every once in awhile he caught himself stealing a glance in Puck’s direction. He watched Puck’s fingers moving on his jeans, thought about those fingers and what they could do – what they would be doing in less than an hour, probably, because Kurt certainly wasn’t expecting a lot of small talk once they got to Blaine’s house – and blushed all over again.

By the time they pulled into Blaine’s driveway Kurt’s mouth was dry and his heart was hammering hard in his chest, and if he was going to succumb to a heart attack like his father, he hoped it would at least happen before he took his clothes off. The thought of getting naked with Blaine _and_ Puck made him blush even harder, and Kurt wasn’t that surprised when he felt a hand close around his arm as he reached for the doorbell.

“Kurt, seriously, if you don’t want to go through with this…”

For a second Kurt just frowned at him, watching the way Puck’s eyes kind of searched his as though maybe he thought there was something Kurt wasn’t telling him. And there was a lot Kurt wasn’t telling him, but he certainly wasn’t about to start while they were standing on Blaine’s doorstep.

“Do _you_ want to go through with it?” he asked, part of him hoping Puck would say no, and the rest of him desperate for Puck to see it through.

Before Puck could answer the front door swung open, then Blaine was looking from Kurt to Puck and back again, smile sort of confused and Kurt forced his features back to neutral.

“Hi,” he said, ignoring the way his voice climbed an octave as Blaine stood aside to let them in.

He heard the door click shut and turned in time to watch Puck slide his jacket off, a faded McKinley t-shirt stretched across his chest and Kurt swallowed hard and looked away again.

“I’m just going to get a glass of water,” he announced to no one in particular, not waiting for an answer before he made a break for the kitchen.

He was setting his glass in the sink when he heard footsteps behind him, then a pair of hands landed on his waist and for one wild second Kurt wondered which one of them had come looking for him. He wasn’t surprised to turn around and find Blaine smiling at him, amused and affectionate and more exasperating than Kurt really wanted to admit.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Kurt answered, mustering the most convincing smile he could. “Are you sure you want to leave Puck alone with your mother’s silver?”

Blaine laughed and leaned in, pressing their foreheads together for a second before he brushed a kiss across Kurt’s cheek. “He’s our guest; you should try not to be rude.”

Kurt opened his mouth to suggest that Puck probably wouldn’t understand politeness anyway, but before he got the words out a throat cleared near the doorway, and he glanced over to find Puck not quite looking at them.

“Look, if this isn’t cool…”

“It’s fine,” Kurt answered, pulling out of Blaine’s grip and smoothing a hand down the front of his shirt. “A little awkward, maybe, but that’s to be expected.”

“Kurt’s right,” Blaine said, the wattage on his smile turning up as he looked at Puck. “A drink might help everyone relax. I think there are some beers…”

“I’m good,” Puck interrupted, his gaze shifting to Kurt for a second before he looked back at Blaine. “Thanks.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, and his smile barely faltered, but Kurt could tell Puck’s refusal had taken the wind out of his sails, just a little. “So we should talk ground rules.”

“We covered that already,” Puck said, and this time Blaine didn’t even try to hide his surprise. “Yes to condoms, no to making out. But this is your show, so you’re buying the condoms.”

Blaine nodded and glanced at Kurt, and okay, maybe he should have mentioned that he’d already laid out some ground rules with Puck, but the truth was he’d had other things on his mind. Like the fact that he was not only going to let Puck fuck him, but he was going to share the experience with his boyfriend.

Kurt shook his head and blushed, glancing over at Blaine again. “Anything you wanted to add?”

“No, I guess that covers it,” he said, and now that they’d run out of stalling tactics, Kurt could see the nerves starting to break through his sunny expression. “Shall we…?”

He gestured vaguely in the direction of his bedroom, and if Kurt was going to back out, this was the moment. There was still time to say no, that he couldn’t do this, not if he ever wanted to look at either of them again. Not if he wanted to show up at school on Monday and not blush every time he caught sight of Puck.

But it was just sex, and Kurt didn’t even enjoy it that much. He was doing this for Blaine, and if Kurt couldn’t be what Blaine needed in the bedroom, at least he could do this for him. So he took a deep breath and nodded, then he let Blaine grip his hand and pull him out of the kitchen.

Kurt didn’t look back to see if Puck was following them. He kept his focus on Blaine, on letting Blaine pull him into a room he knew almost as well as his own, then he let Blaine slide his arms around Kurt’s waist and pull him into a kiss. Kurt’s eyes closed and he pictured the look on Puck’s face when he said, “No kissing,” the vague flash of what couldn’t possibly be disappointment before Puck agreed.

And it was _weird_ , thinking of Puck somewhere in the room, watching them kiss the way they’d done dozens of times before. So many times Kurt had lost count, and it was still nice, still romantic and sweet and all the things he’d always dreamed kissing would be, but there was something about knowing Puck was watching him do it.

His skin felt hot, prickly and tender as though he could _feel_ Puck’s gaze on him, warm and heavy and seeing right through him. Kurt gasped and pulled back a little, letting Blaine kiss his way along Kurt’s jaw as he glanced toward the door and spotted Puck leaning against the frame. Watching, just like Kurt knew he would be, arms crossed over his chest and when Blaine’s hand slid under Kurt’s shirt he saw the flash of heat in Puck’s eyes.

There was a part of Kurt that wanted to reach for him, to hold out a hand until Puck pushed himself off the wall to take it. To invite him in, as an equal instead of just…an accessory, he supposed. But he couldn’t do anything but stand there and watch Puck watching him while Blaine slowly undressed him the way he had plenty of times before.

Then Puck was pushing off the wall, stalking across the room with such purpose that for a second Kurt thought maybe he was going to pull Blaine off him. But Puck stopped just behind Blaine, eyes still locked on Kurt’s as he reached for the hem of his own shirt and yanked it over his head.

The gasp escaped Kurt before he could stop it, and he blushed hot and red when Puck grinned at him. Blaine pulled back too, smiling and shoving Kurt’s shirt down his arms to let it fall to the floor before he reached for the button on Kurt’s pants.

He didn’t want to be the only one stripped bare and on display, but the second he thought it Puck was reaching around Blaine and popping open the button at the top of his jeans. Kurt watched Blaine’s teeth sink into his bottom lip as soon as Puck touched him; he watched the smile spread across Blaine’s face, like he had a secret, and something twisted in Kurt’s chest at the sight.

 _We should stop,_ he thought, but when he opened his mouth to say it the words didn’t come out. Instead he looked at Puck, Puck who was looking right back at him, watching him the whole time he pulled Kurt’s boyfriend’s clothes off. His _boyfriend_ , and if Kurt ever wanted things to be the same between them again, they had to stop.

Except it was already too late to take it back; he could see it on Blaine’s face, and he could see it on Puck’s too. Nothing was going back to normal no matter what, not now, when Puck’s hand was down Blaine’s pants and slowly stroking his dick, watching Kurt the whole time like he was just waiting for Kurt’s reaction.

And that was the thing, because Puck was _touching another guy’s dick_ , without even having to be asked. That wasn’t something anyone would classify as horny straight guy opportunity-seeking. Letting Kurt blow him, sure, not complaining if Kurt jerked himself off while he did it. Even the fucking could be written off as opportunistic, but Puck was actively participating, and that wasn’t what Kurt had expected.

He wasn’t sure _what_ he’d expected, exactly, but when he found himself wishing Puck’s hands were on him instead of Blaine he surged forward to kiss Blaine hard. Blaine moaned against his mouth and practically tore the rest of Kurt’s clothes off, and he hoped they were at least intact enough to get him home, but he couldn’t think about it right now because Blaine was pushing him backwards onto the bed and pushing Kurt’s legs apart to settle between them.

Blaine’s mouth closed around his dick and Kurt bit back a moan, eyes fluttering closed for a second until he got himself under control. He knew Blaine enjoyed sucking dick, mostly because Blaine had said so when they first started negotiating the terms of a physical relationship. He probably enjoyed it more than Kurt enjoyed being on the receiving end, mostly because Kurt could never quite let go long enough to stop thinking about how silly they must look.

He was thinking about how he must look now, but that was mostly because Puck was still watching him, standing at the foot of the bed with his jeans unbuttoned and watching Blaine suck Kurt’s dick. It should have felt even sillier than usual, but something about Puck’s expression made Kurt feel…desirable. It was the first time in his life he’d ever felt remotely worth looking at for something other than his impeccable fashion sense, and knowing that Puck was looking at him without a stitch of clothing and still liking what he saw made Kurt want all kinds of things he’d never even considered before.

Puck’s gaze stayed locked on Kurt’s while he slid his zipper down, then kicked his jeans off and of _course_ he was going commando. Which meant Kurt got his first look at Puck hard, and when he saw that the rumors had at least some foundation in truth, his mouth actually watered. And that was new, because he really wasn’t that fond of giving head, either, but when he thought about wrapping his lips around Puck’s dick, he didn’t worry about whether or not he’d look silly doing it.

“Where do you keep your supplies?” Puck said, voice low and Kurt was fairly sure Blaine didn’t even hear him.

“Top drawer,” he answered, gesturing toward Blaine’s dresser, and when Puck nodded and turned away from the bed Kurt watched him go. He watched the flex of Puck’s muscles under his skin, the broad expanse of his shoulders and the way his thighs sort of twitched like he had too much energy stored up in his body.

Kurt imagined being flipped over and fucked with all that strength and thrust up into Blaine’s mouth, moaning when Blaine hummed around his dick. He watched Puck turn back to the bed, dropping a bottle of lube on the sheet near Blaine’s knee and tearing open a condom wrapper to slide it down his dick. And he wanted Puck to push Blaine out of the way, to crawl over Kurt and push his knees apart and slide inside him. He wanted it more than he’d ever wanted anything; wanted it so much he _shook_ with it, and that was terrifying enough to make him wish he’d never agreed to this.

But Puck didn’t push Blaine out of the way. Instead he slicked up his dick and stepped up behind Blaine again, one hand on his hip and the other parting his cheeks to push slick fingers inside him. Blaine moaned around Kurt’s dick and pushed back into Puck’s touch, fucking himself on Puck’s fingers in a way Kurt had never seen him do before. Like he wanted this even more than he’d let on, and Kurt knew it should bother him, but he couldn’t really complain without being the world’s biggest hypocrite.

Because he wanted Puck, maybe even more than Blaine, wanted all that intensity focused on him in a way that made him feel out of control. He wanted Puck’s hands on him, wanted him pushing inside Kurt the way he was pushing inside Blaine right now, making him moan and pull his mouth off Kurt’s dick to pant for breath and struggle to adjust to the stretch.

It didn’t take him long, even though Puck was bigger than Kurt, and before long Blaine was pushing back into each thrust, driving Puck faster and faster and reaching down to grip his own dick. Kurt thought about helping, but changing positions meant giving up his view of Puck, and he wasn’t willing to do that as long as Puck was looking back at him like he was imagining it was Kurt instead of Blaine underneath him.

Kurt knew Blaine, knew his habits and his tells, so he could tell how close Blaine was. He knew all it would take was a little more, a little harder and Blaine would collapse into a sweaty, sated lump on his mattress and pass out for at least an hour. Which would leave Kurt alone with Puck, and maybe Blaine hadn’t thought about that when he’d talked Kurt into this, but Kurt was thinking about it now.

His stomach trembled at the thought of being alone with all that intense focus, and when he opened his mouth and said, “Faster,” his voice sounded like it was coming from someone else. But Puck just nodded and picked up the pace, angling his hips and matching Blaine’s own strokes until he tensed around Puck’s dick and came on his Egyptian cotton sheets.

Kurt watched Puck pull out of him, still hard and tearing his gaze away from Kurt long enough to pull the condom off and go in search of somewhere to toss it. As soon as Puck pulled out of him Blaine rolled onto his back, eyes closed and grinning up at the ceiling, and it would have been cute if Kurt didn’t know for a fact that he was about to pass out and leave both of them hanging.

Though for once Kurt didn’t really mind, because he’d never enjoyed the race to come first, and for once he didn’t have to worry about it. As soon as he thought it Puck reappeared at the foot of the bed, reaching down for what turned out to be a second condom. Kurt swallowed hard as he watched Puck roll it on, then Puck planted a knee on the mattress and glanced over at Blaine.

“He always do that?”

“Pretty much,” Kurt said with a little sigh, looking at Blaine just so he wouldn’t have to watch Puck watching him.

“How long’s he out for?”

Kurt shrugged and ventured another glance at Puck, swallowing hard when he realized he’d somehow managed to move halfway up the bed without Kurt noticing. “An hour, maybe more.”

“Good,” Puck said, then he leaned in and kissed Kurt hard.

For a second Kurt was too stunned to react. They only had two rules, after all, and it was a little early to be breaking them already. But the way Puck kissed…like he was proving a point, answering a question Kurt hadn’t even asked. Like it was his _job_ , and Kurt felt it all the way to his toes.

He let himself kiss Puck back, one leg coming up to slide around his thighs and pull Puck flush against him. And this was wrong, because Blaine was right there next to them, but Kurt’s hand slid up the back of Puck’s neck anyway, cradling his scalp and kissing him back like he meant it.

There was nothing sweet or romantic about the way Puck kissed. It was nothing at all like kissing Blaine, and it made Kurt feel things he’d only heard about in movies. He’d never expected to feel his toes _actually_ curl, never expected the heat curling in his belly or the urge to drag Puck closer, to try to fit them into the same space.

His fingers flexed against Puck’s skin, digging into his shoulder as Kurt arched up against him, clutching at him and he was aware that he was making high, needy noises in the back of his throat, but Puck didn’t seem to mind. If anything he seemed to like them, at least if the way he was rocking against Kurt was any indication. His hand was on Kurt’s thigh where it was wrapped around Puck, pulling his leg up and opening him a little more, letting Puck settle even further into the v of his legs.

And Puck wasn’t even inside him yet, so Kurt knew it could get even better. He broke the kiss with a harsh gasp, and when Puck pulled back to look at him with those eyes of his Kurt’s heart threatened to pound right out of his chest.

“We can’t,” was all he said, because no matter how much he wanted Puck to keep kissing him like that, Kurt still had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who wasn’t Puck, who wasn’t a mostly straight jock who was only in this for the sex.

For a second Puck looked like he was thinking about arguing, or maybe just ignoring Kurt and taking what he wanted anyway. He leaned in and Kurt opened his mouth to say no again, but before he got the words out Puck’s mouth landed on his neck. Which technically didn’t count as kissing, Kurt reasoned, tilting his chin to give Puck better access to the sensitive patch of skin he’d latched onto.

It felt amazing – almost as good as kissing Puck – but it wasn’t enough, and before long Kurt was clutching at him again and arching up, hips rocking up against Puck’s and murmuring, “Puck, please…”

 _Begging,_ for the love of Prada, and Puck let out a muffled laugh against his neck and pulled back to look at him.

“Damn, Kurt, who knew how fucking sexy you were under all those clothes?”

Sexy. That was one word no one had ever used to describe Kurt, not even Blaine, who was supposed to love him unconditionally. Blaine thought he was cute and sort of silly; he admired Kurt’s voice and his brain and his opinions, but he never thought of Kurt as sexy. He didn’t make Kurt feel _wanted_ , not the way Puck was right now just by turning on that intense stare and feeling around on the bed for the lube like he couldn’t stand to look away, even for a second.

Kurt blushed and pushed up on one elbow, his other hand still clutching Puck’s shoulder to hold him up as Kurt spotted the lube and reached for it. The motion brought him close enough for Puck’s lips to brush his chin, mouthing along Kurt’s jaw as though he just couldn’t help himself. When he reached the corner of Kurt’s mouth Kurt turned his head, his heart clenching at the loss. He ignored it and pressed the lube into Puck’s hand, then he let Puck push him back onto the mattress and bent his knees.

“Fuck,” Puck murmured, but he didn’t elaborate further, and Kurt didn’t ask. Instead he closed his eyes and focused on the press of a slick finger against his opening, hips tilted up and breathing through the stretch. He hadn’t done this all that much, mostly because it usually wasn’t worth the fight, so it took longer for him to relax around Puck’s finger than it did for Blaine.

He opened his eyes, lips parted to tell Puck he didn’t have to be so gentle, because it would hurt if he rushed it, sure, but Kurt didn’t want him getting bored. But when he opened his eyes Puck was watching his finger slide in and out of Kurt, bottom lip caught between his teeth and his free hand gripping the base of his cock like he was trying not to come.

Like just watching his finger slide in and out of Kurt was a turn-on, and when Kurt saw the look on Puck’s face he let out a moan and pushed down against him.

Puck looked up at him then, dark eyes intense as ever and when he leaned forward Kurt knew Puck was going to kiss him again. He knew it and he wasn’t sure he could stop it, not when Puck was looking at him like that. But Puck stopped two inches from Kurt’s mouth, gaze locked on Kurt’s as he flipped the bottle of lube open again and squeezed a little more into his free hand.

Then he straightened back up and pushed a second finger in to join the first, and Kurt focused on relaxing and not the fact that Puck hadn’t kissed him. He was just following orders, after all, and Kurt didn’t have a right to expect more from Puck than he was willing to give. He’d been completely honest about what he was offering here, and the fact that it was a bigger turn-on than Kurt realized he was capable of experiencing wasn’t Puck’s fault.

The fact that Kurt was fairly sure Puck was about to ruin him for anyone else wasn’t really his fault either. When Kurt caught himself thinking that Puck should come with a warning label he laughed, and when Puck paused and arched an eyebrow Kurt couldn’t help grinning at him.

“Am I going to have to engrave you an invitation?”

This time Puck laughed, then he slid his fingers free and Kurt swallowed a moan and started to turn onto his stomach. A hand landed on his hip to push him back down, and when Kurt looked up at Puck he wasn’t smiling anymore.

“Like this. I wanna see you while I fuck you.”

Kurt clamped down hard on a surge of _something_ and nodded against the pillow. He wanted to say no, that he preferred to be on his stomach, that it was easier for both of them that way and it felt better anyway. But the truth was he’d never done it this way before, and the thought of staring into Puck’s eyes while Puck fucked him made his heart beat so hard he thought it might come right out of his chest.

He let Puck slide a hand under his thigh anyway, let him push Kurt’s legs apart and line himself up, sliding inside in one long, slow stroke and dragging a sound out of Kurt that he’d never admit to making. But they both heard it, and instead of laughing or calling Kurt a slut Puck leaned in and pressed a hot, open-mouthed kiss to the side of Kurt’s neck.

He sucked hard on Kurt’s skin while they moved together, Kurt’s hips snapping up to meet each slow thrust, trying to drag Puck further inside with every stroke. And Kurt had always enjoyed the sensation of being filled up like this – at least the few times he’d experienced it – but it had never been like this before. It had never been so…intimate, sweat-slick skin sliding together and a hot mouth on his neck, Puck breathing in their mingled scents as though he couldn’t get enough.

Before he knew what he was doing Kurt turned into him, seeking out Puck’s mouth and when their lips met he knew it was a mistake. Because Puck kissed him back like it was his only chance, tongue thrusting in and out of Kurt’s mouth until Kurt was moaning into the kiss and moving even faster under him.

A hand pushed between them to close around his dick, Puck’s thumb sliding across the tip of his cock and dragging breathy little moans out of Kurt with each upstroke. His own hips were still moving slow, as though he was trying to make it last, and Kurt was just fine with that. He was just fine with staying like this for as long as possible, because the second it was over they had to deal with the consequences.

Namely the fact that his boyfriend was still passed out on the other side of the bed, and there was no way Kurt was ever going to get enough of Puck now that he knew what it was like to be with him.

“Puck,” Kurt said, his voice high and tight, “I need…”

“What?” Puck asked, pulling back just far enough to look at him. “Say it.”

 _You_ , Kurt didn’t say, his whole face flushing just at the thought. He shook his head and reached up to slide a hand around the back of Puck’s neck, dragging him forward and kissing him again. And it was still against the rules, but it was a lot easier than staring into Puck’s eyes and trying not to say what he was feeling.

There was no way he could say any of that out loud, because what he was feeling wasn’t real. It was just the intensity of the connection, just the fact that Puck was experienced and he knew exactly what to do to make someone feel good. It didn’t have anything to do with Kurt; Puck had said himself that this was just opportunity for him, and if it wasn’t Kurt and Blaine it would have been somebody else.

He swallowed hard at the thought and thrust up a little harder, and just like that Puck picked up the pace. As though he could read Kurt’s mind and know exactly what he wanted, even if he couldn’t say it. Kurt’s heart hammered hard at the thought, and a few seconds later he was moaning and clenching hard around Puck’s dick as he came.

As soon as he stopped shaking Puck started moving faster, forehead pressed against Kurt’s shoulder and thrusting more and more wildly into him. Kurt’s arms slid around his back, holding on and murmuring encouragement, breathless and still impossibly turned on, and when he turned into Puck and brushed his lips across Puck’s cheek, Puck moaned something that sounded suspiciously like Kurt’s name and let go.

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, sweat and come making their skin slide together and Kurt’s arms locked tight around Puck’s back. Puck’s hands slid up and down Kurt’s sides, his mouth moving on Kurt’s neck, but he wasn’t sucking marks into Kurt’s skin anymore. In fact, Kurt was fairly sure that he was talking, and his heart pounded against his ribcage even though he couldn’t make out any of the words.

“Puck,” Kurt whispered, and he wasn’t even sure what he wanted to say, but before he got the chance Blaine stirred next to him.

Just like that whatever hormone-induced spell they’d fallen under was broken, and Puck was sliding out of him, climbing off Kurt and not quite looking at him as he mumbled something about cleaning up. A second later he was gone, leaving Kurt feeling cold and more than a little confused, and knowing without a doubt that his perfect relationship was never going to be the same again.

~

They didn’t hang around Blaine’s house long after that. Puck was still in the shower when Blaine woke up, yawning and flashing a sleepy smile when he caught Kurt watching him. The sight of that smile made Kurt’s stomach turn, and he swallowed a rush of guilt and did his best to smile back.

He didn’t think about the evidence of what he and Puck had done after Blaine passed out until Blaine’s gaze shifted to his neck, then he reached out and traced his fingers along what Kurt knew instantly was a large, mouth-shaped mark on the side of his neck. Up high where everyone would see it, unless Kurt wanted to spend the rest of the week wearing scarves.

And most people would just think he’d gotten the hickey from his boyfriend, but Blaine knew exactly who’d put it there, and he didn’t look that thrilled about it. Actually he mostly looked confused, but when Kurt reached up and caught his hand he smiled again.

“Sorry I fell asleep.”

“It’s fine. You didn’t miss much,” Kurt lied, and Blaine let him, though his gaze wandered back to Kurt’s neck for a second. “Puck went to clean up, then I have to get him back before his mother gets home.”

The lie slid off his tongue so flawlessly that even Kurt believed it for a second, then his stomach turned again and he forced another smile.

“I could go with you,” Blaine said. “It’s early; we could get some coffee and then head over to the mall.”

“I’m really tired,” Kurt answered, fingers tightening around Blaine’s where their hands were still entwined, and at least that part wasn’t a lie. He was exhausted and his head was spinning as though he’d been drinking, and he had a feeling he was going to feel this in every muscle tomorrow. “I’ll call you.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, then he let Kurt pull away and gather his clothes before he went in search of a free bathroom.

It turned out Puck’s vast experience with lying came in handy, because he picked up Kurt’s story about needing to beat his mother home without any prompting at all. Kurt knew it wasn’t because they’d made some sort of magical connection during sex; the truth was that Puck had gotten what he wanted, and he wasn’t interested in wasting more time hanging out with Kurt and his boyfriend. He didn’t have anything in common with either of them, and it wasn’t as though he was going to hang around listening to music and discussing Vivienne Westwood’s fall line.

Still, it _felt_ like they’d made a connection. Every time Kurt looked over to find Puck watching him he felt it again, in his chest and his stomach and his groin, right down to the roots of his hair. He felt it when Blaine leaned in to kiss him goodbye, blushing and turning until Blaine’s mouth landed somewhere in the neighborhood of his nose. He flashed an apologetic smile and tilted his head in Puck’s direction, then he turned away and didn’t look at Puck as Kurt herded him out the door.

Neither of them said anything until they were back on the highway. The silence was so loud it was almost painful, but every time Kurt opened his mouth to say something he changed his mind and closed it again. The truth was he had no idea what one said after an afternoon of mind-blowing, but ultimately meaningless sex. _Thank you_ seemed a little trite, and _I’d really like to see you again_ sounded too much like he was asking for…something.

Besides, if there was a repeat performance Blaine would be there, and Kurt had a feeling he’d try a little harder to stay awake the next time.

He reached up to touch the mouth-shaped mark on his neck, but when he realized what he was doing he blushed and stole a glance over at Puck. When he found Puck looking he flushed harder, but he held Puck’s gaze for a moment before he looked out the windshield again.

“Why are you with him?”

The question took Kurt by surprise. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting; some lewd innuendo, perhaps, or an invitation to come in when they got to Puck’s house and pick up where they’d left off. Even the idea of Puck asking if there was going to be a next time was more believable than Puck asking about Blaine, but he was just sitting there in Kurt’s passenger seat, waiting for an answer.

“He asked,” Kurt said, but as soon as he heard himself say it he knew it wasn’t a good enough answer. And the thing was, there were plenty of reasons that he and Blaine made sense together. They had a lot in common, they both wanted the same things out of life, and they both had impeccable fashion sense.

But the truth was that Blaine was the first gay person Kurt had ever met who wasn’t still hiding in a closet, and that had been at least as attractive as Blaine’s wardrobe and his toothpaste commercial smile.

“Look, we have a lot in common,” Kurt added, blowing out a frustrated breath when Puck just raised an eyebrow at him. “He’s one of my best friends. He’s sweet and romantic and he has a great singing voice, and he’s not going to spend the rest of his life stuck in this godforsaken town.”

“But he doesn’t do it for you.”

Kurt’s blush spread all the way down his chest this time, and he kept his eyes carefully focused on the road as he answered. “He loves me.”

“Seems like a pretty dumb reason to date yourself.”

“I’m not dating myself,” Kurt snapped, knuckles white against the steering wheel. “Sharing the same interests means we have plenty to talk about. Not that I’d expect you to understand how a real relationship works.”

“Yeah, I guess you’d need a lot to talk about,” Puck said, and when Kurt ventured a glance at him his mouth was twisted into a bitter smile. “Not like he’s giving you a whole lot else.”

“There’s more to life than sex.”

Puck huffed a laugh he didn’t mean and turned away from Kurt to stare out the window, and Kurt told himself he was glad. They weren’t friends; they weren’t anything, and it didn’t matter what Puck thought.

~

Kurt didn’t see Puck again until Monday. He kept his promise to call Blaine, but when Blaine asked if he wanted to come over Kurt made up an excuse about having too much homework. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Blaine, but Kurt knew if he went over there Blaine would just want to talk about what happened with Puck, and Kurt wasn’t ready to deal with it.

That didn’t stop him from thinking about it. He tried not to, but no matter how he tried to distract himself his mind kept straying to the way Puck had looked at him or the way Puck had kissed him. He kept seeing Puck’s smile when Kurt asked if he was going to have to engrave Puck an invitation to fuck him, and the way he’d pressed his face into Kurt’s neck and held him instead of just falling asleep after he came.

But it didn’t mean anything; it was just sex, and even if he finally got what the big deal was, it didn’t change the fact that he was with Blaine. He was _happy_ with Blaine, and if Puck didn’t understand that, it wasn’t Kurt’s problem. This was all Puck’s idea in the first place, and if he wasn’t happy with the outcome…well, he could just go back to sleeping his way through the entire female population of Lima.

The thought made Kurt’s stomach perform its bizarre tap dance, but he ignored it and focused all his energy on not thinking about Puck. He spent all of Sunday pointedly not thinking about Puck, and by the time Monday rolled around he was so tired from trying not to think about Puck that he walked into school and ran right into him.

The second he collided with solid muscle Kurt froze, bracing himself for sweaty jock hands on his Michael Kors sweater and a one-way trip to the dumpster. But the hands that landed on his arms to steady him were more gentle than he expected, and when they slid down his arms a little Kurt shivered and looked up into familiar dark eyes.

“Puck,” he said, his heart stuttering in his chest when Puck didn’t let go of him. “I’m sorry, I…”

“Don’t mention it,” Puck said, voice low and deep and Kurt remembered the way his laugh rumbled in his chest when he leaned in to open his mouth against Kurt’s neck.

Instantly his fingers flew to his neck, touching the mark Puck had left on him, and he blinked and stepped out of Puck’s grip. He wasn’t expecting Puck to stop him. He told himself he wasn’t disappointed as he headed down the hall to his locker; he didn’t have a right to be disappointed, not when he was already in love with someone else.

Not that he thought Puck wanted Kurt to fall in love with him. He just liked attention, and he didn’t like having to share the spotlight. None of them did; that was the reason they all fought so hard for solos in Glee, and the reason they all spent so much time resenting Rachel and Finn.

But Puck had never fought that hard to be front and center in Glee. For the most part he seemed content to serve as back-up, accompanying Rachel on solos and harmonizing for Finn. The only time he seemed to mind taking a back seat was when it came to relationships: first Quinn, then that weirdness with Rachel, and the vaguely pathetic way he followed Lauren around for ages even though everyone could see she wasn’t interested.

He always wanted what he couldn’t have, and in this case what he couldn’t have was…Kurt. Except he’d had Kurt, and it was amazing, and Kurt knew if Puck offered again he wouldn’t be strong enough to turn it down.

They didn’t speak again for the rest of the day, but every time Kurt spotted him in the hallway or across the lunch room or even in class, Puck was looking right back at him. Like he was waiting for something, only Kurt had no idea what. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do, if Puck wanted him to admit that he wanted more, or if he was waiting for something else. Or maybe he just wanted Kurt to want him so much he was willing to throw away his relationship, and then Puck would lose interest and move on to the next thing he couldn’t have.

Which was exactly the reason Kurt was grateful to have Blaine; their relationship might not be Puck’s idea of exciting, but Kurt knew Blaine would always be there. He could be a little self-important sometimes, sure, and he wasn’t all that good at making Kurt feel desirable, but they had fun together, and Kurt knew Blaine meant it when he said he wanted them to be together forever.

As soon as he got home he dialed Blaine’s number, and when the line connected Kurt smiled and pushed a stray thought of Puck’s hands on his arms to the back of his mind. “Hi.”

“Kurt,” Blaine said, surprise and happiness in his voice. “I wasn’t sure I’d hear from you today.”

“I just wanted to hear your voice,” Kurt answered, sinking onto the edge of his bed and toeing off his shoes. “I’m sorry I didn’t come over yesterday. I should have made the time.”

“It’s okay,” Blaine said, and Kurt’s heart clenched, because he knew Blaine meant it. “We both probably had a lot to think about.”

“Oh?” Kurt said, tension creeping into his voice. It wasn’t fair, because he’d been thinking of nothing but Puck for the past two days, but Blaine had been unconscious for most of their time together, so Kurt wasn’t sure what would be keeping him awake at night.

“Yeah, I mean, I think Saturday went well, don’t you? I’m not sure if Puck’s interested in a permanent arrangement, but I really think it could be the answer to our problem.”

Kurt didn’t point out that it wasn’t exactly a long-term solution, and if they wanted any kind of future together, they were going to have to come up with something better than a third party in the bedroom. He remembered the look on Puck’s face when he accused Kurt of dating himself and scowled, then he pushed the thought away and cleared his throat.

“I don’t know if Puck will be interested in a repeat performance. He’s not exactly known for his attention span.”

He reached up to rub at his neck when he said it, hand over the bruise Puck had left on his skin. If he closed his eyes he could still feel Puck’s mouth there, hot and wet and sucking until Kurt was panting and arching up for more.

“Well it’s worth asking, don’t you think? I’ll talk to him if you’re not comfortable.”

“No, it’s fine,” Kurt said, blushing and forcing his eyes open again. “I see him every day, after all.”

And that was the problem, because he saw Puck every day, but Kurt had no idea how to tell Puck he needed more.

~

He got his chance two days later, when he reached the choir room early to find Puck already there. He was strumming his guitar, murmuring lyrics under his breath while he worked out the bridge, and for a second Kurt just stood inside the door and watched him.

It wasn’t that often anyone got to see Puck like this, intense and focused and completely unaware that he had an audience.

Kurt had seen that intense focus up close and personal. Focused on _him_ , and Kurt sucked in a sharp breath at the memory. Puck looked up at the sound, fingers stilling on the guitar and just looking at Kurt for a second before he looked away and set it down.

“Sorry,” Kurt said, “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Puck shrugged and stood up, glancing toward the door before he looked at Kurt again. “It’s cool. People are going to start showing up soon anyway.”

Kurt nodded and clutched the strap of his messenger bag, hoping Puck wouldn’t notice the way his fingers shook against the fabric. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“So talk.”

He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, chin held high because they’d already had sex, so there was no reason they couldn’t talk about it. “It’s about…that is, Blaine…”

Kurt paused, cheeks flushing as he tried to find the right words to ask if Puck…well, if he’d see them again, Kurt supposed, but it sounded dumb when he thought it, so there was no way he could say it out loud.

“I don’t care what your boy wants.”

“I’m sorry?”

Puck took a step forward, then another until he was standing close enough for Kurt to feel the heat radiating off him. And it wasn’t as though Kurt was ever going to forget what it felt like to be pressed against Puck, hands pulling him close and skin sliding together, so Kurt could hardly be blamed for the way he shuddered.

“I said I don’t care what he wants. I wanna know what _you_ want.”

“Why?”

He hadn’t meant to say it out loud. He’d been wondering why Puck was doing this since he first suggested it, but asking meant Puck might actually tell him, and Kurt didn’t want to hear that he was just killing time. It felt like a lot more than that when Puck was kissing him, and even if it was a lie, Kurt didn’t want to know.

Puck was still looking at him, that intense gaze making Kurt’s whole body feel warm, and when he took another step forward Kurt was sure Puck was going to kiss him. He turned his face up before he realized what he was doing, and when Puck smirked and swayed a little closer Kurt held his breath.

“I know you’re not as frigid as you want everybody to think. I saw how bad you wanted it, Kurt.” He reached up and traced the bruise on Kurt’s neck, gaze following the motion of his fingers, and Kurt shivered and bit down hard on a gasp. “So what I wanna know is did you like it enough to admit you want more, or are you gonna keep hiding behind that boy of yours?”

“I’m not…”

That was as far as he got before they both heard the sound of the doorknob turning, and Kurt scrambled backwards toward the risers, head down and not looking to see whether or not Puck had even bothered to move. He had no idea what he’d been about to say; “I’m not frigid”, maybe, or “I’m not hiding anything”, but the thought made his stomach tremble, and he found a seat and opened his bag with shaking fingers to try to find something to distract himself from the weight of Puck’s gaze.

He wasn’t hiding. He’d been out and proud long enough to be bullied and terrorized and even chased out of the school for awhile, and he’d stood up to Karofsky and his scare tactics and made the school just a little bit safer for any other gay kids that might be thinking about coming out. What he may or may not want from Puck didn’t have anything to do with hiding; sex was nice and all, sure, but who he wanted didn’t define him. It wasn’t anybody’s business, least of all Puck’s.

Kurt glanced across the choir room to find Puck still watching him, and when a familiar warmth curled in his stomach he felt the tips of his ears burn. He pulled his phone out and glanced at the screen, swallowing a sigh when he saw a new text from Blaine. Kurt flipped the phone open to nothing but a little heart symbol, rolling his eyes and deleting it before he shoved the phone back in his bag.

Puck was still watching him when he looked up again, but as soon as their eyes met he looked away, turning toward the front of the room to watch Mike and Artie come in. Kurt sighed and told himself he didn’t care what Puck did; he already had a boyfriend, and vaguely annoying text messages aside, Kurt was happy with him.

~

He didn’t try to approach Puck again that day, or the next day either. The truth was he didn’t want to talk to Puck at all, not when Puck was obviously intent on being as frustrating as humanly possible. So he wasn’t expecting the hand that closed around his arm just after lunch, and Kurt’s whole body tensed when he found himself being dragged into the janitor’s closet and shoved up against the door.

His instinct was to fight, but the hands holding him against the door were strong, and when Kurt heard a familiar voice he stopped struggling and looked up. “Relax, it’s me.”

Puck, and of course he wouldn’t think there was anything wrong with kidnapping Kurt and dragging him into the closet. His chest was pressed against Kurt’s, holding him against the door with his entire body, hands on Kurt’s arms and a knee pushing between Kurt’s legs. And this was all wrong, because Kurt had a _boyfriend_ , but there were certain parts of his body that seemed to think letting Puck pin him against the nearest flat surface was a great idea.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“What’s it look like?” Puck asked, and when he smirked Kurt felt himself blush. “You never answered my question.”

“So you decided to assault me?”

Puck frowned at him, then he loosened his grip, and Kurt told himself he didn’t regret it. But he didn’t back off entirely, and it was hard to think clearly when Puck was _breathing_ right up against him like that.

“I’m not trying to make you do anything you don’t want here.”

It was almost sweet, Kurt supposed, at least for Puck-related values of sweet. He relaxed a little, leaning harder against the door and studying Puck’s face for a second. “Thank you, that’s...thoughtful.”

Puck rolled his eyes, but he was kind of smiling too, and before Kurt even realized he was thinking about it he was leaning in. He saw the moment when Puck’s eyes went a little wide, just a hint of surprise before his expression shifted to one that Kurt could only describe as desire. For _him_ , and when Puck leaned in and kissed him Kurt didn’t even try to stop him.

This time it was slow, less heat behind it but somehow that made it even hotter. As though Puck was committing the moment to memory, learning how they fit together and what made Kurt push forward for more. And he wanted more; more and more, whatever Puck would give him, which was the whole problem.

“We have to stop doing that,” Kurt said, pulling away to gasp for air, and when had he closed his hands around the front of Puck’s shirt, anyway?

The only answer he got was a laugh, then Puck’s fingers were on his neck, tracing the mark he’d left there like it was some kind of trophy. “Doesn’t feel much like you want to stop, babe.”

“Don’t call me that,” Kurt said, ignoring Puck’s frown because honestly, this wasn’t a relationship. Kurt already had one of those, and he was pretty sure if his boyfriend heard Puck calling him ‘babe’, he wouldn’t be very happy about it. “Look, Puck, we...”

He paused, frowning as he tried to work out which ‘we’ he was referring to. But he and Puck weren’t a ‘we’; they weren’t anything, and this was only happening because Puck was bored and he’d already burned the rest of his bridges.

“That is, _I_ would very much like to...see you again, if you like.”

By the time he finished talking his whole face felt hot, and when he looked up and found Puck laughing at him he wasn’t all that surprised. “Your boy gonna be there?”

“Of course,” Kurt answered, frowning now, because he was pretty sure that part of the arrangement was understood. “He’s still my boyfriend, Puck. I told you, I’m not a cheater.”

Which didn’t explain what he was doing pressed up against the door of the janitor’s closet, lips swollen and the taste of Noah Puckerman still on his tongue, but he was fairly sure he could explain this away as contract negotiations if he was pressed for an explanation.

“Fine. When?”

“Friday. My dad’s taking Carole out and Finn’s going somewhere with Rachel. We should have a few uninterrupted hours.”

“Okay.”

Puck shrugged and pressed forward again, hand in Kurt’s hair and when Kurt’s fingers curled even tighter around Puck’s shirt he wasn’t sure whether it was to hold him close or push him away. Then Puck’s mouth was on his again and it didn’t matter, because Kurt couldn’t do anything except kiss him back.

“But I’m not in this for your boy, Kurt. I’ll fuck him if that’s what it takes, but I want _you_.”

A second later he was gone, pulling the door open and it was all Kurt could do to keep his balance as Puck disappeared back into the crush of student bodies in the hallway. He heard the warning bell ring and he knew if he didn’t hurry he’d be late, but he couldn’t make himself care about French class anymore.

~

Puck was the first to arrive on Friday. He was early – so early he barely missed running into Finn on his way out – and when Kurt pulled the door open to find him lounging against it, his heart skipped a beat. He’d seen Puck since he pulled Kurt into the janitor’s closet and told Kurt he wanted him. They hadn’t spoken since then, though, hadn’t touched, and it shouldn’t bother Kurt so much.

He went days without seeing Blaine, without touching him or kissing him, and his fingers had never twitched with the need to reach for Blaine as soon as Kurt saw him again. He wanted to touch Puck now, wanted to pull him close and kiss him until Kurt couldn’t remember why he’d ever stopped in the first place. But Blaine would be over eventually, and Kurt was certain he wouldn’t appreciate if they started without him.

“You’re early,” he said, gripping the door hard as he stood aside to let Puck in.

Puck shrugged and slid his jacket off, hanging it up before he turned back to Kurt. “That a problem?”

It was. They both knew it was, because they’d already proven that they couldn’t be alone without breaking all the rules Kurt had laid out for himself when he agreed to this arrangement in the first place. But he couldn’t stop thinking about the way Puck had kissed him just before he said, “I want _you_ ,” so instead of telling Puck to go home and come back in an hour, he closed the front door and shook his head.

When he turned around again Puck was closer, and when Puck reached for his hand Kurt didn’t pull away.

“We should wait. Warblers rehearsal is probably running late,” Kurt said, but he was already moving forward.

“Hey, it’s not my fault his priorities are fucked,” Puck said, then he slid an arm around Kurt’s waist and leaned in to open his mouth against Kurt’s neck, and Kurt sighed and dug his fingers into Puck’s shoulders.

He let Puck pull him toward the living room, stopping when they reached the couch and tumbling onto the cushions together until they were stretched out with Puck more or less underneath him. His mouth was still moving on Kurt’s neck, trailing hot kisses along his skin to nip at the bottom of Kurt’s chin.

His hands were on Kurt, stroking down his back to push up under his shirt. Kurt knew he should stop it, that he should pull away and tell Puck that if he couldn’t keep his hands to himself that he’d have to go. But if he left he might not come back, and then not only would Blaine be disappointed, but Kurt would have to give up this.

He’d have to give up Puck’s hands on his skin underneath his shirt, Puck’s mouth on his neck and his tongue dragging across the faint trace of stubble on Kurt’s jaw. Puck’s knee pushing up between his thighs, pressing up until Kurt had to bite down hard on his lip to keep himself from moaning. He couldn’t hide how hard he was, though, and when a hand slid into his hair and pulled him up to look at Puck, he felt his heart stutter to a halt before it started back up again in double time.

For a few beats Kurt just looked, watching the flecks of hazel in Puck’s eyes get darker. He could feel his heart pounding and he knew Puck could feel it too, and when Puck’s grip in his hair tightened Kurt knew what was coming.

“Don’t,” Kurt said, but his voice was a whisper, and even he didn’t believe he meant it.

“Why? Because you know you’re gonna like it? Why are you so scared of the stuff that makes you feel good?”

“I’m not afraid.” The words came out angrier than he meant them to, and he braced himself for a laugh and a ‘yeah, right’ or something equally intelligent. Instead Puck’s thumb traced the line of his jaw, then dragged across his bottom lip before he pushed himself up to meet Kurt.

“So prove it.”

Puck’s words were warm against his mouth, and Kurt told himself that was the reason for the shiver that rolled through him. Because he wasn’t afraid; he was just trying to be fair to everyone, and kissing Puck definitely wasn’t fair to Blaine. It didn’t have anything to do with the way Puck made him feel, like there was an electric charge making his whole body vibrate every time Puck touched him.

He wasn’t afraid to kiss Puck, and if Puck wanted him to prove it, he would. It wasn’t really cheating; Blaine would be here soon enough, and anyway, he’d never actually _said_ that he minded if Kurt kissed Puck. Kurt told himself he believed that and met Puck halfway, lips parted against his and kissing him like he really did have something to prove.

Puck made a surprised noise against his mouth and surged up to meet him, fingers tight in Kurt’s hair and rocking up against him. His hand slid down Kurt’s back to cup his ass, fingers splayed like he was making some kind of claim, and the thought made the ball of want in Kurt’s belly curl even tighter.

Making out with Puck on his father’s couch was the last thing Kurt ever thought he’d find himself doing, but it _felt_ right, better even than when he and Blaine first got together and he voluntarily kissed another boy for the first time. A fresh surge of guilt shot through him at the thought and he tried to pull back, to tell Puck they had to stop before he lost his mind completely.

He opened his mouth to say so, but before he got the words out Puck’s tongue was in his mouth, hands on Kurt’s hips and turning him until he was flat on his back with Puck stretched out on top of him. Kurt sighed into the kiss and slid his leg around Puck’s thigh, and Puck groaned and reached down to tug Kurt’s calf up until it was hooked around his waist.

And it felt amazing, but when Puck’s hips rolled against his, that felt even better. “Puck,” Kurt murmured against his mouth, fingers bunched in the sides of Puck’s shirt and twisting Puck’s Led Zeppelin shirt into a mess of wrinkles.

“Puck,” he said again, voice breathy and wrecked and he blushed at the sound of it. But instead of laughing at him Puck just kissed him again, soft this time before he tore his mouth away from Kurt’s to work his way back down Kurt’s neck.

“Babe,” Puck murmured against his jaw, and Kurt knew he shouldn’t like hearing Puck call him that, but he couldn’t help the way his heart stuttered when he said it. “How long…?”

“I don’t…not that long,” Kurt answered, though the truth was he had no idea how long they’d been making out, or how close Blaine was to interrupting. He pushed Puck away far enough to get to his phone, dragging it out of his pocket and checking his messages. There was a text from Blaine, just two words: _leaving now_ , and according to his phone it had been sent twenty minutes ago.

“He’ll be here in a few minutes.”

He shoved until Puck rolled off him, then he slid off the couch and started working on straightening his clothes. His hair was probably a lost cause, and he could only hope that Blaine would be too distracted to notice that it looked as though someone had been running their fingers through it. Tugging on it and pulling Kurt closer, and the memory went straight to Kurt’s dick.

He glanced over his shoulder at Puck, taking in swollen lips and the hint of skin where Puck’s t-shirt rode up at his waist. He started to reach out, but when he realized what he was doing he let his hand fall awkwardly against his own thigh.

“Puck…”

Before he got any further the doorbell rang, and Kurt swallowed a sigh that might have been relief and stood up. And it was strange, because the evening hadn’t even started yet, but it felt as though something had just ended.

Kurt shook his head and took a deep breath, then he pulled open the front door and forced a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Hi.”

Blaine grinned back at him, reaching for Kurt’s hand and letting Kurt pull him inside before he kicked the door shut. He tugged Kurt forward to brush a kiss across his cheek, and when he looked over Kurt’s shoulder at something Kurt knew Puck was standing in the living room doorway watching them.

“’Sup,” Puck said from behind him, and Kurt’s heart clenched when Blaine pulled back to flash a puzzled smile at Kurt.

“Guess I’m the last one here.”

“Just barely,” Kurt lied, squeezing Blaine’s hand before he let go again. “Puck just got here.”

Blaine’s gaze slid past Kurt to Puck again, his smile back in full force as he slid his jacket off. “Hi.”

Kurt didn’t look over his shoulder at Puck; if he was rolling his eyes Kurt didn’t want to know. Instead he took Blaine’s jacket and hung it up, then he turned back toward them both and took a deep breath. “Shall we?”

Puck nodded and turned away, taking the stairs two at a time, and when Blaine looked at him Kurt just shrugged and turned to follow Puck. When he reached his room Puck was sitting on the edge of his bed, legs splayed and his arms braced on the mattress and Kurt’s heart skipped a beat when he saw him. He felt Blaine stop behind him, then a hand landed on his arm and Kurt let Blaine steer him further into the room.

“I wanted to show you guys something, if that’s okay,” Blaine said, casting a glance at Kurt as he headed for the laptop sitting open on Kurt’s desk. “It’s something I thought we could try.”

Kurt watched him log into his e-mail, then he clicked a link and a few seconds later there was an image of three guys on Kurt’s computer, their moans too loud in the silence of the house. The tips of Kurt’s ears started burning as soon as he realized what he was seeing, and he glanced toward the bed and then back at the screen.

Two of the guys were on their stomachs, asses in the air and it appeared the third one was taking turns with them. And Kurt understood why the idea appealed to Blaine; it meant he’d be an active participant this time instead of passing out and leaving his boyfriend alone with a hot and willing teenager. Kurt didn’t even blame him, but that didn’t mean he needed to see it play out in living color.

Before he could do more than blush and look away again Puck was standing up, crossing the room and reaching around Blaine to shut the laptop. “New rule: No porn.”

He was standing between Kurt and Blaine, back to Kurt but he could see the tension in Puck’s shoulders. And he knew Puck had no problem with porn, so Kurt could only assume that he was doing it for Kurt’s benefit.

“I just thought…”

“No porn or I’m out of here,” Puck interrupted, and Kurt wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or humiliated.

“Okay,” Blaine said, blinking and glancing past Puck to Kurt. “No porn. Though while we’re discussing logistics, I’d really like to suck your dick, Puck.”

He smiled while he said it, as though maybe he was a little embarrassed to admit it out loud. But Blaine had never had a problem just saying what he wanted and expecting it to work out, and it wasn’t as though Kurt expected Puck to turn down the offer of a free blow job. What he wasn’t expecting was for Puck to glance at him before he turned back to Blaine to arch one perfect eyebrow.

“Fine. If you call off the kissing ban.”

It was officially the weirdest conversation of Kurt’s life, and he hadn’t said a word since they got to his room. He wanted to tell Puck to forget it, that the kissing ban was his rule in the first place, and it wasn’t up to Blaine to call it off. But then he wouldn’t be able to kiss Puck until Blaine fell asleep, and he _really_ liked kissing Puck.

Blaine wasn’t quite frowning, but he did look sort of confused, like maybe he didn’t understand why Puck wanted to kiss either one of them. And Kurt couldn’t even blame him, because he still wasn’t sure when Puck had gone from the straightest guy he knew to…well, the guy Kurt was cheating on his boyfriend with.

When Blaine looked at him Kurt shrugged and managed a small smile. “It’s just kissing, right? I don’t mind if you don’t.”

Kurt had no idea if Puck thought he was helping, or if he was just tired of waiting, but before Blaine even answered he pulled his Led Zeppelin t-shirt off and tossed it on the floor. Blaine’s eyes went a little glassy at the sight, and it wasn’t like Kurt could blame him there either, because he’d seen Puck shirtless enough to know exactly how distracting it was.

Puck kicked his shoes off next, and when he reached for the button on his jeans Blaine scrambled to get his own shirt off. He lost his shoes as Puck took a seat on the edge of Kurt’s bed, but when Puck spread his legs Blaine gave up on getting undressed and sank to his knees in front of Puck.

Kurt watched as Blaine closed a hand around Puck’s cock, stroking a few times before he leaned in and closed his lips around the head. And Kurt had never been all that comfortable with having his dick sucked, but he’d let Blaine do it enough to know he was pretty good at it. So he wasn’t surprised when Puck’s eyes slid closed, hands closing around Kurt’s bedspread to clench the fabric hard.

Kurt was blushing again, his erection pressing against the front of his jeans as he watched Blaine suck Puck’s dick like a pro. Then Puck’s eyes opened and he looked up at Kurt, dark and intense and before Kurt knew what was happening he was crossing the room to kneel on the mattress next to Puck. He was still wearing all his clothes, and when Puck let go of the comforter to grab the front of his shirt and pull him forward, Kurt let him.

It was strange, kissing Puck in front of Blaine. Not that Kurt could tell if Blaine was paying any attention to what he was doing, because his own eyes were closed as he parted his lips to let Puck in. Puck’s hand was still twisted in the front of his shirt, holding him close as though maybe he was expecting Kurt to pull away. Kurt’s heart drummed hard in his chest at the thought and he reached up, soothing a hand along Puck’s scalp and around to his jaw, the pad of his thumb catching on the rough scratch of Puck’s stubble.

He heard Puck’s strange, hitching intake of breath and swallowed the sound, and when an arm hooked around his waist to drag him down onto the bed, Kurt didn’t try to stop it. He paused long enough to look down at Blaine, watching him shift position until he was kneeling on the end of the bed, knees planted on either side of Puck’s thighs. His pants were open but he still hadn’t gotten around to taking them off, and when Blaine looked up their eyes locked for a second.

He couldn’t tell what Blaine was thinking; Kurt had never been any good at telling what Blaine was thinking, and trying to guess had gotten him in trouble more than once. He blushed anyway when Puck’s hand slid back into his hair, but Kurt let himself be pulled forward, away from the sight of Puck’s cock sliding between Blaine’s lips.

His stomach twisted weirdly and he couldn’t tell if it was jealousy over having to share Puck, or guilt about the fact that he wanted Puck all to himself. Because he wasn’t planning to break up with Blaine; as far as he knew all Puck wanted from him was sex, and that wasn’t a good enough reason to end an otherwise perfectly good relationship. Puck hadn’t even asked him to break up with Blaine, though it was clear he wasn’t above fooling around when Blaine wasn’t there to participate, and Kurt had no idea what any of that meant.

Puck surged up to kiss him and Kurt’s heart stuttered again, warmth pooling in the base of his stomach just from the knowledge that Puck wanted him. Wanted him enough to let Kurt’s boyfriend suck him off, and Kurt wanted to laugh, because most people would hardly think of a blow job as a sacrifice, but the sound got caught in his throat and muffled against Puck’s mouth until it was more of a strangled sob.

The hand in his hair tightened, then relaxed again, fingers stroking his scalp as Puck pulled back to look at him. Kurt shook his head and didn’t meet Puck’s gaze, looking down instead at his hand where it was resting on Puck’s bare shoulder. As soon as he did a hand came up to cover his, warm fingers sliding between his own and then Puck’s mouth was on his neck and Kurt closed his eyes and tried not to think at all.

He didn’t think about Puck’s fingers threaded with his, just like he didn’t think about the hand cradling the back of his head while Puck murmured against his neck. Kurt couldn’t make out the words, but he knew they were getting way too close to something they couldn’t take back. Something he wasn’t willing to deal with, not with Blaine in the room and already half-naked.

“Puck,” he whispered, but it came out sounding more like a regret than a warning, and when he pulled back he could see that Puck wasn’t happy.

He pushed himself up on his elbows, frowning at Kurt for a second before he looked down at Blaine’s mouth still working his cock. Puck’s expression darkened and he reached down, hand in Blaine’s hair and tugging until Blaine pulled off him with a vulgar popping sound, perfect lips parted and looking confused for a second before he realized what Puck wanted.

“Lose the pants,” Puck said, nodding in the direction of Blaine’s khakis before he looked over at Kurt again.

Kurt who was still fully clothed, and when Puck arched an eyebrow at him he blushed and reached for the buttons on his shirt. His fingers shook and he took a deep breath, trying in vain to steady them. He could hear Blaine digging around in the drawer of his nightstand, looking for the condoms and lube Kurt kept tucked away in the back where he wouldn’t have to see them every time he opened the drawer.

By the time he got his shirt off Blaine was kneeling on the bed again, cock standing up straight and looking completely at ease, and Kurt wanted to pull his shirt right back on again. He was considering it when a hand landed on his waist, then he was being pulled forward by his belt loops, and he looked up to find Puck smirking at him.

“This’ll work better if you lose the pants too,” he said, reaching for Kurt’s fly and popping the button open without taking his eyes off Kurt’s face.

He knew he was blushing, heat spreading up his neck and down his chest, across his cheeks and even warming the tips of his ears. He could feel both their gazes on him, knew Blaine was watching Puck undress him while Kurt just stood there and let it happen. Puck was still looking at him too, amused and turned on at the same time, eyes dark with what was becoming a familiar want, and Kurt’s stomach fluttered in anticipation when Puck slid to his knees and tugged Kurt’s pants down.

For a second Kurt thought Puck might suck him off with Blaine looking on -- for a second he actually _wanted_ Puck to -- and his stomach trembled in anticipation. But Puck just hooked his thumbs in the sides of Kurt’s boxer briefs and tugged them down, then he wrapped a hand around Kurt’s cock and stroked a couple times before he stood up.

“Your boy wants you on your knees,” he said, leaning in close so Kurt could feel the heat of Puck’s words against his skin. He couldn’t tell if Puck was telling him what to do next, or if he was giving Kurt the chance to refuse something he maybe wasn’t comfortable with, but before he could figure it out Puck was turning away from him to reach for the lube Blaine had dropped on the bed.

When Kurt turned toward the bed Blaine was watching him, and when he smiled and held out a hand Kurt took it. Blaine’s hand felt different than Puck’s; a little softer, grip not quite as firm, but familiar in a way that didn’t make Kurt’s heart race. He let Blaine pull him onto the bed, and when Blaine pressed their lips together Kurt didn’t pull back.

But he kind of wanted to, and that was the thing, because Blaine was the one he should want to kiss. It shouldn’t feel like he was cheating when he let Blaine kiss him, hands on either side of Kurt’s face and holding him there the way he’d done countless times before. It had always been Kurt’s favorite part of sex; he liked the way Blaine kissed him, soft and affectionate, reminding Kurt that it didn’t matter to him if Kurt wasn’t that good at the rest of it.

That was before he kissed Puck, before he knew what it was like to want something so much he _ached_ for it. Before he knew it was possible to feel a single kiss all the way to his toes, curling in his belly and making him do things he never thought he’d be capable of. It was before he knew someone could make him feel wanted with just a look, could make him _feel_ so much he thought he might burst from it.

Blaine broke the kiss to moan low in his throat, and Kurt knew he hadn’t caused that reaction, so he blinked his eyes open to take in the sight of Puck kneeling behind Blaine, two fingers working in and out of him while he stared back at Kurt. He could tell Puck wasn’t being gentle, and he could see by Blaine’s blissful expression and the way his head rolled back against Puck’s shoulder that he loved it.

Then Puck shoved and Blaine obeyed, dropping to his hands and knees without a hint of self-consciousness. It was almost admirable, and Kurt could think of plenty of times when he wished he could be as comfortable in his own skin as Blaine.

As soon as he thought it Blaine looked up at him, reaching for his hand again and dragging him down to the mattress. Kurt rolled onto his side on the pretense of watching, but the truth was he couldn’t stand the thought of kneeling next to Blaine like the men in that video and waiting his turn.

Lining up for his shot at Puck as though this was…just sex, and that’s exactly what it was. That was all it was to Blaine and to Puck too, as far as Kurt knew, and it couldn’t be anything else if he wanted to get out of this with his dignity intact. Admitting that he felt more than that when Puck kissed him would leave him without a boyfriend, but it would leave him without Puck too, and Kurt wasn’t even sure anymore which would be worse.

He bit his lip and ventured a glance up at Puck, watching as Puck slid a condom on and then lined himself up to push inside Blaine. For a second his eyes snapped closed, and Kurt studied the focus in his expression as Puck waited for Blaine to adjust to the sensation. Kurt knew how it felt – knew how they both felt – and before he could stop himself he was pushing back up onto his knees and leaning in to kiss Puck.

Puck kissed him back like he needed Kurt to breathe, panting against his mouth and reaching up to clutch the short hairs at the back of Kurt’s neck hard enough to hurt. But Kurt didn’t mind, because Puck’s tongue was in his mouth, pushing past his teeth and chasing the taste of Kurt until he was moaning into the kiss.

Puck’s hips moved in time with his tongue, bottoming out inside Blaine only to snap back and start all over again. Blaine moaned into every thrust, fingers gripping Kurt’s comforter and leaving behind a mess of wrinkles. But Kurt couldn’t make himself care, because Puck’s hand left the back of his neck to slide down to his ass, parting his cheeks and circling his opening with the rough tip of his middle finger.

“Get on your knees, babe,” Puck whispered right up against Kurt’s ear, and when Kurt heard the word ‘babe’ he bit down hard on a gasp and didn’t look down to see if Blaine had heard. “I wanna see your tight ass while I fuck your boyfriend.”

Until that moment Kurt didn’t know it was possible to blush that hard. It had to be the single most bizarre moment of his life – stranger even than being kissed by Dave Karofsky – and the curling warmth in his stomach just made it worse. It was _vulgar_ , but that wasn’t the worst of it; the worst was that Puck was asking him to be on display, for no other reason than because Puck wanted to look, and Kurt wanted to do it.

He wanted Puck looking at him – looking at him and wanting him – in a way he’d never wanted anyone to look before. With Finn it had been about the naive romantic notions he’d gleaned from old black and white movies, and even with Blaine it had always been about wanting to fit in, to be accepted and respected for himself for once.

But with Puck it was all those things and a thousand more, like the way Puck could make him feel like his skin was on fire with just a look. The way Puck kissed him as though he thought he might not ever get another chance, and the way he refused to say Blaine’s name because he couldn’t stand the thought of Kurt wanting someone more than him.

The tip of Puck’s finger pushed inside him, and Kurt found himself rocking back for more before he even stopped to think about how he must look. He turned his face until he found Puck’s mouth again, kissing him hard before he nodded and turned around.

He leaned forward, forehead pressed against his arms where they were folded on the mattress. He could sense Blaine next to him, feel the heat pouring off his body and hear the needy, desperate noises he was making. Then a hand landed on Kurt’s ass, just stroking his skin until he pushed back into Puck’s touch. Asking for more, because he knew that was what Puck wanted, and he wasn’t going to give in until Kurt asked.

As soon as he did Puck’s hand moved further down, pushing his cheeks apart and circling his opening before he pushed a slick finger inside Kurt. He bit down hard on a moan and rocked back into Puck’s touch, eyes rolling back and his arms shaking where they held him up on the mattress. From a single touch, and for the first time since he became sexually active, he thought he might be able to come without anyone touching his dick.

A second finger slid in to join the first, and Kurt twisted his neck to watch Puck moving, his other hand braced on Blaine’s hip and slamming into him with each thrust. He was making sounds Kurt had never heard before, low and wanton and it was clear he didn’t even realize he was doing it. Kurt had never seen him so turned on, never seen him _want_ something so much.

He’d never wanted that from Blaine; that hot, insistent desire that they couldn’t ignore. He’d liked the sweet, safe kisses and the hand holding and the long conversations about Broadway and how fabulous life would be once they got out of Ohio. But he’d never wanted messy or complicated or… _this_ , Blaine begging for more and harder and he didn’t even care how much it was going to hurt tomorrow, he just _wanted_.

There was no going back from this; Kurt knew that, and Blaine had to know it too. There was no way Kurt could ever make Blaine sound like that; he didn’t even want to. He loved Blaine, sure, but he’d never been able to let his guard down around Blaine long enough to lose that much control.

Kurt pulled away to roll onto his side, and he knew this wasn’t part of the game, because the whole point of showing them that stupid video was that Blaine wanted to stay conscious for the action this time. He was smart enough to know that there was something he was missing, and he didn’t want to leave Kurt alone with Puck the way he had last time.

But Blaine had never paid much attention to what Kurt needed when it came to sex, so there was no reason Kurt had to play by his rules now. He looked up at Puck, stomach quivering when he found Puck watching him, then he lifted his hand and licked a hot stripe down the center of his palm.

He reached under Blaine and gripped his erection, thumb sliding across the head and making Blaine buck up into his grip. Blaine’s eyes were closed, mouth open and facing Kurt, and he really was perfect, even like this. As soon as he thought it Blaine blinked at him, just looking for a second, and Kurt wasn’t so melodramatic that he thought Blaine could read his mind, but it felt a little like he could, just for a second.

Then Puck angled his hips and Blaine thrust hard into Kurt’s grip, lips parting on a surprised ‘oh’ as he came in Kurt’s hand. _Messy,_ Kurt thought, then he pictured all the laundry he’d be doing tomorrow. He wiped his hand on the sheet anyway, because it was already a disaster, so there was no point worrying about it now.

When Blaine finally caught his breath Kurt expected him to pass out right away the way he always did, but instead Blaine caught his hand and slid their fingers together, and Kurt had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but he let Blaine hold on anyway. His gaze strayed to Puck, condomless now and still kneeling over Blaine, hand on his cock and his eyes closed as he jerked himself off.

Kurt wanted to stop him, because they didn’t have all night the way they had last time, and if Puck came now there was a chance he wouldn’t want to fuck Kurt. Then Puck’s eyes opened and he looked right at Kurt, into him and through him and Kurt’s whole body flushed as he watched Puck come.

He didn’t think about the mess this time. Instead Kurt glanced over at Blaine, watching his eyelashes flutter against his cheeks for a second or two before he eased his hand out of Blaine’s slack grip and reached up to pull Puck down onto the mattress. They rolled until they were on their sides, Puck’s arm around his waist and Kurt’s hands moving, touching every inch of skin they could reach.

Puck kissed him slow, like they really did have all the time in the world, and Kurt wanted to believe he was right. He wanted to pretend his entire family wouldn’t be home eventually, wanted to pretend Blaine wasn’t breathing softly behind him and that it was just them, just him and Puck for as long as they wanted.

Kurt was still hard, dick pressing into the crease where Puck’s perfect torso met his equally perfect thigh, and when Puck reached between them and palmed Kurt’s dick he let out a breathy sigh.

“Come on, baby,” Puck said, and it was so cheesy that Kurt couldn’t help laughing. He grinned against Puck’s mouth and didn’t complain about the dumb pet names even though Blaine was still right there, and okay, dead to the world, but even if he wasn’t Kurt wasn’t sure he’d be able to tell Puck to stop.

Puck’s grip tightened, thumb sliding across the head of Kurt’s cock, then tracing the vein along the underside, sucking on his tongue the entire time and it should have been gross, but Kurt just wanted more. More and more, more kissing and more touching and even more stupid pet names, and it was weird that that would be the thought to push him over the edge, but a second later Kurt was tensing against Puck and coming in his hand.

As soon as he stopped shaking Puck was pushing him onto his back, pushing his legs apart and sliding two come-slick fingers inside him. Kurt bit back a moan and pulled his knees further apart, all thoughts of what he must look like gone along with his bones and most of his brain cells. Puck was still kissing him, mouth moving on his jaw and his neck and then back to Kurt’s lips to push his tongue past Kurt’s teeth and kiss him hard.

He could hear himself chanting Puck’s name, heard the needy noises he was making too, higher and more desperate every time Puck’s fingers twisted inside him. His hands gripped Puck’s shoulders, pulling him closer and trying to get Puck to understand what he couldn’t say. Because he’d forgotten how to form words at some point while Puck was sucking out every brain cell through his tongue, and now all he could do was moan Puck’s name and wordlessly beg for more.

“Condom,” Kurt finally managed, and when he added, “hurry,” Puck laughed against his cheek.

“I’m clean,” he said, then he pulled back to raise an eyebrow at Kurt. A challenge, Kurt knew, and there was a part of him that wanted to say, _fine, whatever, just shut up and fuck me already_. Instead he frowned and bit down hard on a fresh moan when the fingers still buried inside him twisted a little.

“Is there some proof of that somewhere?”

Puck rolled his eyes and pulled his fingers free, and this time Kurt bit back a moan at the loss. “Yeah, there’s a letter from the clinic somewhere in my room. Lauren made me go get tested back when she decided she wanted to make a sex tape, and then she never even put out.”

“My heart bleeds,” Kurt said, but his expression softened a little as he reached above him for the box of condoms Blaine had dropped earlier. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, just...not while he’s here.”

Which implied that there would be a time Kurt would be willing to do this while Blaine wasn’t here, and he knew that was a mistake, but he wasn’t thinking about it. Not while he was tearing the condom wrapper open and reaching for Puck with a shaking hand, rolling it down and stroking a few times before he looked up at Puck again.

As soon as their eyes met Puck leaned in and kissed him, and Kurt expected it to be hard and demanding, but instead it was soft, slow and searching and Kurt’s heart was pounding by the time Puck eased him back onto his side. He stretched out behind Kurt, chest pressed to Kurt’s back and sliding a hand under his thigh to push his knee up toward his chest.

He slid inside Kurt slowly, mouth on Kurt’s shoulder and the hand that wasn’t holding Kurt open coming up to catch Kurt’s hand where it was stretched over his head. Their fingers threaded together and Kurt closed his eyes, rocking back into each lazy thrust to try to get Puck deeper inside.

Puck could probably keep this up for hours, slow, shallow thrusts making Kurt gasp and bite down hard on his lip and push back for more. They’d both already come once, and if they had all the time in the world Kurt wouldn’t really mind the agonizing pace. He might even enjoy it, the feeling of Puck’s hand on his thigh and his mouth on Kurt’s shoulder, sucking more marks into his skin that Kurt was going to have to keep covered this time.

But he couldn’t bring himself to tell Puck to stop, not even when he thought about Blaine waking up and spotting the fresh bruises on his neck. Kurt sighed and arched his neck, cheek pressed against Puck’s shoulder and brushing his lips across whatever skin he could reach.

Puck’s fingers were still curled around his, his chest hot and solid against Kurt’s back, and when he angled his hips a little Kurt groaned and clenched hard around him. That got him another thrust, harder this time, and the hard press of Puck’s teeth grazing the top of his shoulder. So he did it again, then again, and when Puck’s hand let go of his to trace Kurt’s bottom lip with his fingers Kurt sucked them between his teeth.

Puck groaned and bit down harder on the soft skin where Kurt’s shoulder and neck met. He bucked forward, hips moving a little faster now, and Kurt sucked harder on his fingers and pressed back to meet him. His tongue dipped between Puck’s fingers, probing sensitive skin until Puck was swearing under his breath and pushing Kurt’s knee up even higher.

It was amazing, better than he thought it could be, turning Puck on so much with just his _mouth_. And okay, his ass probably had something to do with it, but he kind of liked how much Puck liked his ass, too.

Kurt blushed at the thought, ears turning red and when Puck laughed and worried Kurt’s earlobe between his teeth Kurt knew he’d noticed.

“Touch yourself for me, babe,” Puck said, whispering low in his ear and sending a shiver down Kurt’s spine.

At the sound of the word ‘babe’ Kurt glanced at Blaine, but he was still breathing deep, face pressed into the sheet and fast asleep. Kurt closed his eyes again and reached down, hand closing around his dick and stroking in time to Puck’s thrusts.

He knew Puck was watching, and he knew it should bother him, but when Puck kissed the side of his neck and murmured, “you’re so fucking hot,” Kurt couldn’t bring himself to care.

 _I’m not,_ he wanted to say, because Puck couldn’t really mean it, but the words got stuck in his throat when Puck pulled his hand away from Kurt’s mouth to close it over the one on Kurt’s dick. He rocked between Puck’s hand and his cock, lips parted to let out the breathy little moans that made Puck thrust up even harder.

And Kurt was sure he was going to die, that there was no way he could take anymore, but then Puck was pushing him forward onto his stomach and pulling him up onto his knees, grunting with every deep thrust. Kurt dropped his head to the mattress and just hung on, and when Puck reached around him and fisted Kurt’s dick again he thrust forward and came with a gasp.

For the second time in less than an hour, and Kurt wasn’t about to volunteer the information or anything, but it was the first time he’d come twice in one night. He knew that it was possible; he’d taken Biology and Sex Ed, and despite McKinley’s woefully limited curriculum, he’d gleaned enough information about teenage anatomy to know that most guys could manage multiple orgasms, given the proper stimulus.

He’d just never _cared_ before. He’d never seen the point, and as long as Blaine seemed satisfied he didn’t worry about it. But the thought of Puck wanting him enough to get off and then come back for more instead of just rolling over and falling asleep made Kurt’s stomach tremble for a whole new reason, and he caught Puck’s hand and pushed back to meet his next thrust.

Puck swore under his breath and snapped his hips forward again, bottoming out inside Kurt over and over until finally he gritted his teeth and came. Kurt waited until Puck caught his breath before he collapsed forward onto the mattress, eyes closed and sighing into his pillow when solid warmth pressed against him. He turned into Puck’s heat, hands sliding along warm skin to drag Puck close.

A minute later he realized what he was doing and panicked at the thought of Puck’s reaction to Kurt _snuggling_ , but Puck’s arms were already sliding around his waist to pull Kurt even closer, so he assumed Puck didn’t mind. Lips brushed across the corner of his mouth and Kurt turned into the kiss, sighing and sliding his arms around Puck’s neck to kiss him back.

“Babe…”

“You have to stop calling me that,” Kurt said, and when Puck frowned and pulled away Kurt sighed and reached out to catch Puck’s hand. “Puck, wait.”

“Whatever,” Puck answered, pulling his hand out of Kurt’s and sitting up. “I need to get cleaned up anyway.”

A second later he was gone, muscles tense across his back as he disappeared into the bathroom to deal with the condom. Kurt told himself it was for the best; someone was bound to come home soon, and it would be just as bad if Finn came home and caught them all together as it would be if his father got home first.

He climbed out of bed and pulled on his dressing gown, tugging the belt tight around his waist as Puck emerged from the bathroom and started pulling his clothes back on. Kurt opened his mouth to say Puck didn’t have to leave, or maybe just that he wished Puck didn’t have to go. But it didn’t matter what Kurt wanted, so he kept his mouth shut and watched while Puck buttoned his jeans and reached for his t-shirt.

When he’d pulled his sneakers back on he stood up, glancing at the bed where Blaine was still naked and sprawled across the mattress. “Is he staying?”

“No,” Kurt said, telling himself it wasn’t jealousy he was hearing in Puck’s voice. “Even if I wanted him to, my father has archaic rules about boys sleeping over.”

Puck huffed something like a laugh and let Kurt lead him out of his room, down the stairs to the front door. Kurt waited while Puck pulled his jacket on, biting his lip as he tried to think of something to say that didn’t sound completely asinine.

“I wish you didn’t have to go” sounded too needy, and “Blaine’s really not staying” sounded too much like a promise he wasn’t sure Puck wanted him to make. “Thank you” didn’t sound any better this time than it had the last time, and he didn’t really want to start another fight by telling Puck to hurry up. The truth was he didn’t want Puck to go at all, so in the end he just bit his lip and watched Puck slide into his jacket.

For a few beats Puck just looked at him, then he reached out and tugged at the front of Kurt’s robe, smirking when Kurt crossed his arms over his chest. “You look good all covered in me.”

Kurt wrinkled his nose and opened his mouth to tell Puck exactly what he thought of his taste level, but before he got the words out Puck was kissing him again. Kissing him and backing him up against the wall, hands on his hips and _grinding_ against him until Kurt couldn’t even remember what they’d been talking about.

When Puck pulled away again Kurt was panting, lips parted and eyes glazed and he was sure he looked ridiculous, standing in the hallway in his bathrobe letting Puck kiss him as though he couldn’t get enough. Kurt sighed at the thought, but when Puck raised an eyebrow at him Kurt just shook his head and curled a hand around Puck’s jacket to pull him forward again.

“You should leave before Finn finds you here.”

Puck frowned again, and Kurt could only assume it was because of the reminder of where he was and who could walk in at any moment. Then he surged forward to kiss Kurt hard, one hand pressed to the bruise on his neck and the other sliding under Kurt’s robe. Kurt’s surprised gasp was muffled by the kiss, and when Puck pulled away again he was laughing.

“See you tomorrow, Princess,” he said, then he pulled the front door open and disappeared before Kurt could ask what exactly he meant by that.

~

As soon as Kurt walked back into his room the guilt set back in. Mostly because Blaine looked so harmless when he was asleep, with his hair curling perfectly over his forehead and his mouth open just a little.

And okay, he looked well-fucked and completely debauched, but Kurt couldn’t really hold that against him without being a complete hypocrite. He supposed he could blame Blaine for thinking any of this was a good idea in the first place, but he was the one still playing by the rules, and Kurt had thrown them all out the window after barely a week.

He shook Blaine awake less than gently anyway, and when Blaine blinked and frowned at him Kurt said, “You have to go before my dad gets home.”

Blaine nodded and sat up, looking a little lost, and Kurt knew it was just because he was still groggy and dazed from coming so hard, but he took pity on Blaine anyway. “We could go to the mall tomorrow, if you like. I think there’s a new Ryan Adams album out.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, and he looked a little surprised, but he was smiling. “If you’re sure you don’t have too much homework.”

“I’ve got some time,” Kurt answered, forcing a smile when Blaine grinned and leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek. When he lingered Kurt pulled back, doing his best not to look like he was avoiding kissing Blaine as he stood up and began gathering clothes off the floor. “But right now you really have to go. Or at least get dressed.”

“Right,” Blaine said, and a week ago Kurt would have found the way he ran a hand through his curls endearing. Now all he could think about was the surprising softness of a close-shaved scalp under his fingers, and the rough drag of stubble against his cheek.

“Sorry. You know how my dad is,” Kurt said, smiling apologetically when he handed Blaine his clothes.

“I know. It was a big risk to do this here,” Blaine said, then his smile turned kind of dreamy for a second. “Though you have to admit it was worth it.”

That was definitely an understatement, but Kurt didn’t comment. Instead he pressed his lips together and picked up his own clothes, tossing them in the hamper while Blaine headed for the bathroom to clean up the remnants of lube and get dressed again.

When he was done Kurt walked him to the front door, and the goodbye kiss this time was completely different from Puck’s. Kurt didn’t push for more; he didn’t _want_ more, and he knew what that meant. Puck always left him wanting, whether it was a quick grope in the janitor’s closet or an evening of mind-blowing sex. Puck made him want things he never thought he could have, and it wasn’t fair to Blaine to keep pretending nothing had changed.

But Blaine would go to the mall with him, Blaine remembered his coffee order and he held Kurt’s hand and okay, sometimes he was a little weird about drawing attention to the fact that they were a couple, but that was still more than he got from Puck. He and Puck…they weren’t anything, really, just a dirty little secret that could ruin everything if anyone found out.

Still, he knew he had to make a choice, and he had to make it before Blaine brought up the possibility of inviting Puck into bed again.

It was still on his mind the next day when they got to the mall, and for once when Blaine didn't reach for his hand Kurt was glad. It was easier to keep a clear head if Blaine wasn't touching him, reminding him of the reasons Kurt couldn't bring himself to have the conversation he knew they needed to have.

Puck wasn't going to give him any of that. Puck wasn't even gay – well, Kurt wasn't sure _what_ Puck was, exactly, because he certainly didn't kiss like he was just taking advantage of an opportunity – but regardless of where he fell on the Kinsey Scale, he wasn't going to be joining any Pride parades any time soon.

Puck was...he was heat and strength, raw and electric and there was no way he'd stay interested in Kurt. The only reason he thought he wanted Kurt was because Kurt was already taken, and as soon as he broke up with Blaine he wouldn't be half as attractive anymore.

The thought tied his stomach into knots and he was glad Blaine was too busy charming the girl behind the register at the music store to notice the color draining from Kurt's face. By the time he turned around Kurt had managed to convince himself he wasn't going to throw up, at least, and when Blaine flashed a curious smile Kurt forced himself to smile back.

"Everything all right?"

Kurt thought about lying. It would be easy enough; Blaine let him do it all the time, though whether it was because he didn't want to deal with it or he just didn't care, Kurt had never asked. If he did Blaine might actually tell him, and the truth was Kurt had never wanted to know. But it wasn't fair to Blaine to keep pretending everything was fine, even if Kurt was fairly sure Blaine wanted him to.

"We should talk."

"Okay," Blaine said, his smile faltering a little. "About what?"

"Not here," Kurt answered, glancing back at the cashier who was pretending not to listen to them. "Let's go get a smoothie or something."

Blaine nodded and followed Kurt out of the store, toward the food court at the center of the mall. Kurt could feel the tension rolling off him and he gripped his own arms a little harder, fingers digging into his elbows to keep them from shaking. He had no idea how to start a conversation like this; he'd called Blaine on plenty of self-centered behavior before, but compared to telling Blaine their relationship wasn't working, that was easy.

And the thing was, Kurt couldn't even put his finger on _what_ wasn't working, because Blaine really was the perfect boyfriend in nearly every way. If Kurt had never kissed Puck he wouldn't even know what he was missing, and it shouldn't be so important to feel that electric charge between them, but he couldn't stop thinking about it.

He took a deep breath as he sat down across from Blaine, hands curled around his smoothie and pressing his lips together as he tried to come up with the right way to say what he was thinking. There was no way to take it back, not with Blaine sitting across the table _looking_ at him. Kurt nodded and looked up, opened his mouth even though he still had no idea what to say, then stopped and looked over Blaine's shoulder.

"What...?"

That was as far as he got before Finn and Puck slid into the seats next to them, Finn's large hand landing on Blaine's shoulder for a second as he grinned across the table at Kurt.

"Hey, guys," Finn said, "I didn't know you were going to be here."

Kurt felt a knee press against his and glanced over at Puck, but he was watching Finn with a bored expression on his face. And there was no way Puck could know that he and Blaine were going to be at the mall, but he had promised to see Kurt the next day, and it seemed strange that they'd just turn up out of nowhere to interrupt...well, he still wasn't sure what they were interrupting, but obviously it wasn't going to happen now.

"It's the mall," Kurt said, not quite rolling his eyes at Finn, because it wasn't like there were unlimited places to hang out in Lima on a Saturday afternoon. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Rachel wanted to pick up some new sheet music for Glee," Finn answered, glancing over his shoulder in time to spot Rachel marching toward them with a bag clutched to her chest. Finn raised a hand and waved in her direction, and when Rachel spotted them she smiled and hurried over.

"Hello, boys," she said, her smile all teeth until she spotted Blaine. "Oh. Hello, Blaine," she added, clutching the sheet music a little closer to her hideous argyle sweater, and Kurt rolled his eyes and didn't look over when Puck snorted a laugh.

"Rachel," Blaine said, gesturing toward the chair on Kurt's other side. "Is that new sheet music?"

"Yes," Rachel said, sliding into her chair to perch on the edge and clutch the sheet music in her lap. "Though you know I can't tell you what I purchased. As much as I personally enjoy your company, you're still the competition."

And just like that they were off, having the same polite argument they had nearly every time they got together. Blaine seemed to enjoy ruffling Rachel's feathers, at least as far as competition was concerned, and Kurt knew exactly how long they could keep it up. Finn was looking between the two of them, a confused frown on his face as though he wasn't sure whether or not they were serious.

Kurt didn't even look at Puck; his knee was still pressed against Kurt's, heat pouring off him where he was leaning toward Kurt a little, and he knew he couldn't stay there with Puck just _breathing_ next to him and listen to Blaine flirting with Rachel.

He stood up abruptly, and when all four of them looked up at him Kurt blushed and forced himself to meet Blaine's gaze. "I'm just going to run over to Macy's and try on those pants I saw earlier."

"Oh," Blaine said, and Kurt didn't miss the way his gaze shifted in Puck's direction before he caught himself and looked back at Kurt. "I'll go with you."

"No, it's fine, stay and entertain Rachel. I won't be long," Kurt said, forcing a smile and turning away from the table before Blaine could argue.

He just wanted a few minutes alone, just to get his head on straight and figure out what he was doing before he ruined everything. He needed to stop thinking about Puck, about the way Puck could make him feel just from the press of his _knee_. He needed to figure out a way to stop wanting something he wasn't going to get, and that wasn't going to happen with Puck sitting across a table from Blaine acting as though they barely knew each other.

He took his time digging through the racks, frowning at what passed for fashion in Ohio before he finally found the pants he'd spotted on their way into the mall earlier. They weren't really that nice, and he wouldn't have given them a second thought if he hadn't been looking for an excuse to get away from Blaine and Puck for awhile. But now that he was here he might as well try them on, so he went in search of a dressing room and a few more minutes of solitude.

Kurt smiled at the attendant and took the number she handed him, then he headed down the row of dressing rooms in search of one that was open. He heard someone else talking to the attendant, gruff voice sending a shiver down his spine and Kurt turned just in time to see Puck taking a plastic number out of the attendant's hand and stalking toward him.

He just had time to register the shirt hanging from Puck's free hand before he was being pushed into an open dressing room, then Puck was kicking the door shut and turning the lock. Kurt's stomach trembled at the look on Puck's face, eyes dark with familiar want and that stupid smirk making Kurt's knees wobble.

"What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" Puck asked, and Kurt rolled his eyes, because he was fairly sure they'd had this same conversation in the janitor's closet a few days ago.

"Obviously I know what you're _doing_ ," Kurt snapped, ignoring the part of him that really wanted to shut up and let Puck do it. "I mean what on earth makes you think that Blaine's not going to notice that you followed me?"

Puck scowled in that way that told Kurt he didn't really care what Blaine thought. Which wasn't fair, because Kurt _had_ to care, at least until he figured out what he was doing. "Relax, Princess. I told them I had to get home to drive my Nana to Temple. Rachel knows what time Shabbat service is; she'll back me up."

Puck leaned in as he spoke, hands on Kurt's hips to back him up against the dressing room wall. He grinned and tilted his head a little, studying Kurt's neck as though he was trying to decide where to kiss him first. And just the thought was enough to send most of the blood in Kurt's body pooling in his groin, so he wasn't surprised when his hands betrayed him by curling around the front of Puck's shirt to pull him closer instead of pushing him away.

"Using your grandmother as an excuse to stalk me hardly seems in keeping with any religion's values," he said, but his voice came out breathier than he intended, and when Puck laughed against his neck Kurt couldn't hold back a gasp.

"Sex is one of the things you're allowed to do during Shabbat," Puck answered, mouthing his way along Kurt's skin to the sharp angle of his jaw. "Pretty sure the original idea was for people to stay home from work and make babies."

Puck paused, pulling back to grin at him before he added, "Guess we weren’t really what they had in mind when they made up that rule."

At the sound of the word 'we' Kurt's heart stuttered, and he tightened his grip on Puck's shirt and tugged before he could stop himself. Puck grinned and took the hint, finally – finally – pressing their lips together. It was soft, slow and full of promise and Kurt knew exactly how willing Puck was to back it up.

A hand slid up Kurt's side to tug his shirt out of his jeans, and Kurt sighed and reached down to catch Puck's hand before he got any further. "I can't stay. Blaine..."

Puck scowled at the mention of Blaine's name, and when he pulled back Kurt was sorry he'd said anything. If he'd just kept his mouth shut they could still be kissing, but he knew it wouldn't stop there, and there was no way he could explain disappearing for so long when Puck was missing too.

"I told you, I don't care about your boy," Puck said, wearing the frown that always reminded Kurt of a spoiled little boy. The one that reminded Kurt that Puck was only here because he liked attention, and he sighed again and reached out to run a hand down the front of Puck's shirt, just because he could.

"Why are you doing this?"

The second he heard himself say the words he wished he could take them back. He didn't want to hear the answer, didn't want to hear Puck say that this was just sex. He liked that Puck wanted him – _wanted_ Puck to want him – and as long as he didn't ask he didn't have to face the fact that this thing between them wasn't going anywhere.

But instead of smirking and making some crack about sex being sex, Puck caught Kurt's hand where it was resting on the center of his chest and lifted it to his mouth. He turned his face into Kurt's palm, brushing a kiss across the center and sending a shiver straight down Kurt's spine.

"Because I want you. _Just_ you," Puck said, eyes flashing with something like determination.

"Are you saying...what are you saying?" Kurt asked, his voice shaking, because he didn’t want to believe Puck was asking for a commitment, but that was how it sounded.

"I’m saying I’m not down with hooking up with your boy anymore," Puck said, leaning in to whisper against Kurt’s mouth. "So if you’re just in it for the free show you’re gonna have to find somebody else. But if you want somebody who can give you what you need, I’m right here."

It wasn’t sweet or romantic or any of the things Kurt had always told himself he wanted. But this was Puck he was dealing with, and ‘sweet’ was one of those words that was never going to apply to him. At least not in the way it did with Blaine, and really, it wasn’t as though Kurt had been expecting some big confession. He wasn’t expecting a speech about Puck’s sexuality, because the truth was Puck probably hadn’t even thought about it. All he knew was that being with Kurt felt good, and Kurt wasn’t sure that was enough.

“Puck,” Kurt whispered against his mouth, intent on telling him to stop. He was going to tell Puck they couldn’t do this anymore, and eventually the strange, unsettling heat in his stomach would go away. Eventually he’d stop feeling like he was on fire every time he looked at Puck, anticipating the next time Puck touched him. Because there wouldn’t be a next time, and it wouldn’t even take Puck very long to move on to someone else.

Someone female, most likely, and Kurt wouldn’t even mind, because he still had Blaine.

Blaine who he’d been about to break up with when Puck showed up, and as soon as Kurt remembered a fresh stab of guilt shot through him. He’d been about to end the only chance he had at a real relationship in this town, and for what? For the chance to crawl back into the closet with Puck – literally _and_ figuratively – for however long it took Puck to get bored.

His heart sank, then shot straight into his throat when his phone rang, Blaine’s ringtone blaring in the silence of the dressing room. Kurt fumbled for it, pushing Puck away far enough to get to his pocket.

“Don’t answer it,” Puck said, hand on Kurt’s to stop him.

“It’s Blaine, I have to,” he answered, but when he looked up and saw Puck’s expression he paused for a second. His heart skipped a beat and he told himself he was imagining the raw pleading in Puck’s eyes; he had to be, because there was no way Puck was _begging_ him for anything.

Then Puck scowled and the moment was gone, and Kurt told himself he really had imagined it. He flipped his phone open and looked away from Puck, cheeks flushing at the sound of Blaine’s voice.

“Blaine, hi. Sorry it’s taking so long, I found a few things on the sale rack that weren’t completely awful, so I thought I’d see if I could make them work.”

Puck’s hand left his arm as he spoke, and he told himself it was for the best. It would be even better if Puck just turned around and walked back out of the dressing room, then out of the mall to go do whatever it was Puck did when he wasn’t trying to ruin Kurt’s life.

Except Puck wasn’t leaving, and when he dropped to his knees and reached for the button on Kurt’s jeans, Kurt didn’t quite manage to stifle his gasp.

“Kurt?” Blaine said, voice full of concern. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Kurt answered, doing his best to sound normal while Puck was sliding his zipper down. “I…polyester.”

His whole face flushed as he heard himself blurt out the words, because they didn’t even make any sense, for one thing. But he’d never been much of a liar, and he could hardly be expected to think when Puck was pushing his shirt up and leaning in to run his tongue along the strip of hair running down Kurt’s abdomen.

He heard a chuckle from somewhere around his midsection, and Kurt lifted the phone away from his mouth long enough to hiss a harsh, “Stop.”

All it got him was another laugh, and Kurt bit down hard on his lip when Puck gripped the sides of his jeans and yanked them down to his thighs. His underwear went with them, and before Kurt could stop him Puck was leaning forward and closing his mouth around Kurt’s cock.

 _Noah Puckerman_ was sucking his dick, and Kurt had never really seen the appeal before, but when Puck looked up at him he felt his knees start to give. “Oh my…God.”

“Kurt,” Blaine said in his ear, and Kurt’s heart thudded hard in his chest when he remembered Blaine was still on the phone.

“It’s nothing,” Kurt managed, but he could hear the strain in his voice, and he knew Blaine could hear it too. “It’s just…these pants are awful.”

“Are you still in Macy’s?” Blaine asked. “I’ll come find you.”

“No,” Kurt said, panic clear in his voice, and God, he really was the worst boyfriend ever. He looked away from Puck, trying to gain at least some kind of control, but when he caught sight of their reflection in the mirror his breath caught again.

His pants were caught around the middle of his thighs, Puck’s hand holding his shirt above his waist and leaving half of Kurt’s torso on display. His face was flushed and his eyes were dark and glassy, hair already wrecked and Puck was looking up at him like he’d never seen anything so beautiful. Like taking Kurt apart was his main goal in life, and Kurt closed his eyes to block out the image and forced himself to focus on the problem at hand.

“I’m almost done, there’s no reason for you to come all the way over here,” Kurt said, managing by some miracle to sound more or less normal. “I’ll meet you at the…the entrance in...ten minutes.”

His voice caught on the words, and he knew Blaine heard that too. “Okay. Kurt, are you sure…?”

“My dad’s on the other line,” Kurt lied. “I have to go.”

He hung up before Blaine could answer, his phone slipping out of his fingers as he reached down to grip Puck’s shoulders. “Puck…we can’t…”

At the sound of his voice Puck pulled away, hand still moving on the base of Kurt’s dick as he looked up at him. “Babe. Shut up.”

Before Kurt could answer Puck’s mouth was on him again, tongue flat against the base of his dick and dragging a moan out of Kurt. He shoved a fist in his mouth to stifle the sound, because they weren’t that far from the front of the dressing room, and if the attendant caught them his dad would probably hear about this, and then Blaine would be the least of his problems.

But Puck wasn’t stopping, so Kurt looked over at their reflection again, blushing even harder at the sight. He was a mess, clothes hopelessly wrinkled and hair beyond repair. There was no way he’d be able to put himself back together in time to meet Blaine, even if Puck stopped right now.

Kurt opened his mouth to demand that Puck stop anyway, to tell him this was taking things too far. It was too much, too _intimate_ , and if Puck kept it up Kurt was going to start believing in things he couldn’t have. But all he managed was another broken moan, then Puck twisted his grip and did something with his tongue that made Kurt see stars, and before he could choke out so much as a warning he was coming.

His fingers tightened on Puck’s shoulders, digging in hard and probably leaving marks, but if Puck noticed he didn’t seem to mind. He swallowed around Kurt, mouth still moving on him as Kurt shook through the last of his orgasm, and when his knees started to give out Puck’s hands landed on his hips to hold him up. He pulled away to look up at Kurt, letting go long enough to run the back of a hand across his mouth before he stood up.

“Puck…” Kurt whispered, and his voice sounded strange even to him. “I…”

He didn’t know what he’d been about to say, but when Puck surged forward to kiss him it didn’t matter anymore. Kurt’s arms slid around his neck and he held on, lips parted to taste himself on Puck’s tongue. He wasn’t thinking about Blaine or the fact that Kurt had promised to meet him in just a few minutes. He wasn’t even thinking about how he looked with his pants still around his thighs and his whole body flushed, hair a disaster and there was no way he could explain any of this to Blaine.

All he was thinking about was kissing Puck back, memorizing every sensation so he could remember when Puck was gone. Except he’d still be right there, in Kurt’s classes and in Glee and in his _life_ , always right there on the edge of Kurt’s consciousness, even once Puck had moved on to something…better.

The thought made Kurt’s throat close up, and when Puck pulled back to look at him he blinked and told himself the tightness in his chest was just guilt. He was lying to everyone, and he’d promised himself a long time ago that he wasn’t going to do that anymore.

A hand landed on his cheek, fingers tracing his blush and it felt so _right_ that the hard lump in his throat got even bigger. Kurt stole another glance at the mirror, watching Puck’s hand move on his skin and then closing his eyes to commit the sight to memory, just in case. Then Puck leaned in and brushed his lips across the skin just below Kurt’s ear, and Kurt let out a shaky breath and reached up to catch his hand.

“I have to go,” Kurt said, and he knew it wasn’t fair to leave Puck hanging like that, but technically it was his own fault for cornering Kurt when he knew they had limited time.

For a second he thought Puck might argue, maybe tell Kurt again that he didn’t care about Blaine. Instead Puck just smirked and let Kurt push him away to pull his clothes back on, blushing the entire time and not looking up to see Puck watching him.

“It’s cool. You can make it up to me later.”

Kurt did look up then, frowning at Puck as he tucked his shirt back in. “What are you talking about?”

“I told Finn I’d come over later and play Madden,” Puck said. “I said I’d see you tomorrow, didn’t I?”

“Yes, but I thought…” Kurt trailed off, frowning when he realized that Puck couldn’t have meant this. He didn’t even know Kurt would be at the mall, and even if he had he couldn’t know that Kurt would ditch the rest of them to try on clothes alone. “So you’re coming over tonight?”

“Yeah,” Puck said, grinning and swaying forward to tug on the front of Kurt’s shirt. “Usually I just end up crashing on Finn’s floor, but you’ve got that nice big bed all to yourself.”

He picked up the shirt he’d brought into the dressing room with him, then found the little plastic number the attendant had given to him. And Kurt knew he couldn’t let Puck stay in his room, not if he didn’t want his father to catch them. He knew he should say so, because he was fairly sure Puck wouldn’t want his dad knowing about them any more than he wanted Finn to find out. But he was already picturing Puck in his bed, only Blaine wouldn’t be there this time, and Kurt’s whole body shuddered when Puck leaned in and kissed him one more time.

“We can’t…”

“Yeah, you keep saying that,” Puck interrupted, then he was gone, and Kurt let out a sigh and turned toward the mirror to try to put himself back together.

~

When Kurt finally caught up with Blaine he was ten minutes late, ruffled and distracted and he was fairly sure he was still blushing. When Blaine caught sight of him his smile faltered, and Kurt swallowed hard against a fresh stab of guilt. And he was going to give himself an ulcer if he kept this up, but when Blaine caught his hand Kurt didn’t pull away.

“Everything okay?”

“Fine,” Kurt answered, voice tight, but it wasn’t as though he could explain to Blaine why he suddenly felt like crying. “I’m sorry that took so long.”

Blaine’s smile returned then, but it was strangely forced and Kurt’s stomach twisted at the sight. “It’s no problem. So you decided against the pants after all?”

Kurt glanced down at his other hand, where the bag from the CD store was still clutched. “Oh. Yes. They were awful. It was a waste of time, to be honest.”

Even as he said it he pictured Puck on his knees, full lips stretched around Kurt’s dick and his hands pressing Kurt back against the wall, holding Kurt there like there was nothing in the world he wanted so much as to suck Kurt off. It was ridiculous, because it was _Puck_ , but Kurt had been there to hear the noises Puck made and the self-satisfied look on his face when he stood up to let Kurt taste himself on Puck’s tongue.

Kurt flushed even harder and pulled his hand out of Blaine’s on the pretense of digging out his keys. They walked to the car in silence, but Blaine didn’t try to take his hand again, and Kurt wasn’t sure if that meant he knew and he wanted Kurt to be the one to say it, or he just wanted to go on pretending everything was fine.

He was reaching for the door when a hand closed around his arm, and Kurt looked up sharply to find Blaine frowning at him. It was a look he’d never seen on Blaine’s face before, and his stomach clenched tight at the sight.

“Do you still want to talk?” Blaine said.

“It’s not important,” Kurt answered, gaze focused on Blaine’s shoulder.

The hand on his arm didn’t move, and when Blaine squeezed Kurt looked up again. “Give me some credit here, Kurt. I’m not stupid.”

Kurt didn’t answer; instead he pulled the driver’s side door open and got in. A minute later Blaine slid into the passenger seat, and when he looked over Kurt gripped the steering wheel hard and took a deep breath.

“I cheated on you. I didn’t mean to.”

For a moment Blaine didn’t answer, and when Kurt ventured a glance at him, Blaine was smiling. But it was strange; twisted in the way it had been when Kurt first found him outside Macy’s, and Kurt’s stomach turned again at the sight.

“Puck,” Blaine said, and it wasn’t a question. If it had been Kurt would have laughed, because it wasn’t as though either of them had a lot of options. “So that _is_ why you were taking so long.”

“We haven’t…not without you there,” he lied. He pictured Puck on his knees just half an hour ago and blushed, and he knew it gave him away.

“Then what did you do, exactly?”

“Just kissing, mostly,” Kurt said. “I know it was against the rules…”

“Kurt,” Blaine interrupted, “I didn’t make up the rules.”

“I know. I made them. You’d think I’d be able to remember; there were only two.” His laugh was brittle and high-pitched, and they both knew he didn’t really mean it.

“But it’s just kissing, right? I mean, it’s a complicated situation, Kurt. Asking somebody to do…well, you know…” Blaine paused and smiled, genuine this time, and it made Kurt’s stomach turn. “It was just a solution to our problem, and I think it worked pretty well. I’m fine with doing away with the no kissing rule if that’s what you need.”

“What about what Puck needs?” Kurt asked, and until he said it he didn’t even know he’d been thinking it.

“What Puck...” Blaine broke off, an incredulous laugh escaping him, his smile frozen in a weird parody of the grin that could charm men and women alike. “You can’t be serious.”

“Of course I’m serious. He’s a person, Blaine. We can’t just expect him to...to show up and _perform_ and not feel anything.”

For a minute Blaine just looked at him, expression darker than Kurt had ever seen it, and Kurt knew he had a right to be angry, but he couldn’t help thinking it wasn’t a good look for Blaine.

“He’s the one who suggested all this in the first place. I assumed he was getting what he wanted out of the arrangement.”

Kurt shrugged and looked away, out the window toward the mall where he knew Puck wasn’t lurking around, watching him break up with Blaine. “Yes, well, apparently he’s changed his mind. He doesn’t want to do it anymore.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, and for a moment he looked surprised, as though the idea of Puck being the one to call it off hadn’t dawned on him. To him Puck was just in it for the free sex, and maybe it was Kurt’s fault that Blaine thought Puck wasn’t any better than that. _Kurt_ hadn’t thought Puck was better than that, not until a week ago.

“Well, okay,” Blaine said, “if he doesn’t want…”

“Blaine. Stop.”

Blaine stopped talking, but his mouth was still open, lips parted and eyes wide and he looked perfect, even like that.

“Look, I’m sorry about all this, but we knew before it started that it wasn’t working. I love you, I do, it’s just…”

“What?” Blaine asked when Kurt trailed off, blushing even harder now.

“It’s just that I’m _in_ love with him.”

“Kurt…” Blaine paused, looking sort of sad for a second. Or maybe it was pity; Kurt never had been able to tell. “Have you told him this?”

“No, of course not,” Kurt snapped, his blush spreading all the way to the tips of his ears. It felt strange to say it out loud, and stranger still when he knew that Blaine was feeling sorry for him. As though Puck couldn’t love him back, and Kurt had been telling himself that very thing since all this started.

And it wasn’t even fair, because Puck was the one who kept coming back for more. Puck was the one who kept making him _feel_ things, things he’d never even wanted to feel. Before Puck he’d been fine with what he and Blaine had, but now…now there was no going back, and he’d known it since the beginning.

“Listen, Kurt, I know it seems like there’s a connection between you. Any time you’re intimate with someone…”

Kurt shook his head, cheeks burning now, but he met Blaine’s gaze anyway. “I’m not a child.”

“I know that,” Blaine said, and there went that sad smile again, the one that told Kurt that was exactly how Blaine saw him. “All I’m saying is that sex can make you feel things that aren’t necessarily there, especially if it’s good sex. I was there, Kurt. It was really good.”

 _I never felt this way with you,_ he thought, but he didn’t say it, because the last thing he wanted was more of Blaine’s pity. Maybe he even deserved it a little; maybe Blaine was more upset about Kurt cheating on him than he wanted to admit, but none of that changed the fact that things between them were over.

“None of that matters,” he said instead, lips pressed together for a second before he turned to face Blaine. “Regardless of what happens with Puck, I think we both know you and I are through.”

Blaine nodded, glancing out the window at the mall parking lot. “I guess this is the part where one of us says we can still be friends.”

For a long time Kurt had felt lucky to be dating one of his best friends, but now that he knew how it felt to be with someone like Puck – someone who could make his pulse race with just a look – he knew that was all he and Blaine had ever been. Friends who cared about each other, and yes, even loved each other, kissed sometimes and held hands and went through the motions of intimacy, but in the end they were just together because they didn’t have any other options.

“I’d like to,” Kurt said, and he meant it, because when it came right down to it, Puck was right. He and Blaine were so alike they were practically the same person; it was the reason they got along so well, and he was starting to think it was the reason Blaine had never made him feel the way Puck did.

Blaine shrugged, still looking out the window, but just when Kurt was starting to think the conversation was over, Blaine turned back to him. “Maybe. I’m going to need some time.”

Kurt nodded and didn’t point out that time was exactly how they’d gotten into this mess in the first place. He wasn’t sorry; he’d wanted more than he was getting from Blaine, and now that he’d found it he knew he’d never be able to settle again. Not when there was a chance that someone would look at him the way Puck did, like he was the best thing Puck had ever seen.

He took another breath and started the car, backing out of the parking spot and pointing the Navigator toward the highway. The ride back to Blaine’s house was quiet, and when he pulled into Blaine’s driveway he didn’t bother shutting off the engine.

“I really am sorry, for what it’s worth.”

Blaine nodded and unbuckled his seat belt, but before he pushed the door open he glanced back at Kurt. “Don’t call, okay? I...”

“...need some time,” Kurt finished for him. “I understand.”

When he smiled Blaine smiled back, then he ducked his head and let out a little laugh, and Kurt remembered why he’d been so crazy about Blaine in the beginning. A second later he was gone, swinging the door shut behind him and heading up the driveway to the house, and just like that, Kurt had his first ex-boyfriend.

But he wasn’t single again, exactly.

Kurt’s heart pounded hard in his chest as he backed out of Blaine’s driveway and headed home. He still had no idea what he and Puck were; he didn’t know how Puck would react when he found out that Kurt had broken up with Blaine, if he’d want to keep sleeping with Kurt or if he’d lose interest now that Blaine was out of the picture.

His stomach clenched at the thought and he gripped the steering wheel hard until the urge to throw up passed. Maybe Blaine was right and there was no way Puck returned his feelings; maybe it was just hormones making him think there was more to the way Puck kissed him than just convenience. But there was the chance that Puck did want him as much as he said, and as long as there was a chance, Kurt was going to take it.

~

Kurt’s confidence held until Puck actually showed up at their house. Right after dinner, and he was glad it wasn’t before, because the last thing he needed was to sit across from Puck at the dinner table with his whole family looking on.

It was Kurt's turn to do the dishes, which meant that not only was he elbow-deep in soap suds when Puck arrived, but he couldn't even disappear into his room when the doorbell rang. A few seconds later there were footsteps in the kitchen, and when Kurt looked up Puck was standing there, smirking and looking even hotter than usual.

“‘Sup.”

“Hello, Puck,” Kurt answered, blushing and turning back to the sink before Finn noticed and asked him what was wrong.

Except Finn already had his head in the fridge to grab a couple Cokes, then he shoved a bag of chips into Puck's chest and Kurt kept his eyes on the task at hand and hoped he didn't look too much like he was about to throw up. He heard Finn's, "Dude, you ready?" and relaxed slightly when he heard footsteps moving away from him, but a second later he heard someone pause in the doorway.

"You should come hang out when you're done, dude," Puck said, and Kurt blinked and looked over his shoulder to find Puck still smirking and Finn looking puzzled behind him.

"Thank you," Kurt said, careful to keep his voice even, "but I have some homework to do."

"It's Saturday, Kurt," Puck answered, and when he grinned Kurt felt his whole face heat up. He nodded and turned back to the sink, frowning down at the bubbles until he heard the TV come on in the living room.

Puck inviting him to hang out with them didn’t mean anything. It certainly didn’t mean he was interested in anything beyond casual hook-ups, and Kurt knew better than to expect more than that. Still, it was hard not to hope for more, especially now that he’d said how he felt out loud.

Until he said it he hadn’t even been sure how he felt, but as soon as the words came out of his mouth he knew they were true. The worst thing he could have done was fall in love with Puck, but somehow it had happened anyway, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it now.

He finished the dishes and went upstairs to his own room, ignoring the sounds of the video game and the low murmur of voices as he passed the living room. Normally Puck and Finn were cheerfully insulting each other in loud enough voices for the whole house to hear, but Kurt didn’t stop to find out why tonight was different.

Instead he climbed the stairs and let himself into his bedroom, closing the door behind him and dropping into his desk chair. For awhile he tried to focus on the history paper he was supposed to be writing, but it wasn’t due for a week, and it was impossible to concentrate when he knew Puck was right downstairs, waiting to see if he’d be able to stay away.

Or maybe hoping that he’d come in and hang around with them, and the thought of Puck wanting him around when other people were there was too much to resist. Sure, it was just Finn, but Finn was Puck’s best friend, so maybe he was the most important person of all.

Kurt shoved his history book aside with a sigh, then he stood up and crossed to his dressing table to check his reflection in the mirror. His hair wasn’t tragic or anything, and he wasn’t blushing at the mere thought of Puck for once. He was wearing the same outfit he’d had on at the mall, and for a moment he debated whether to change or to leave on the same clothes that he’d been wearing when Puck cornered him in the dressing room.

He tugged his collar open a little, and when he caught sight of the edge of the last bruise Puck had left on him, he made up his mind. In the end he kept the jeans Puck had peeled off him earlier and changed into a t-shirt with a low enough collar to display all of Puck’s handiwork, then he made his way back downstairs.

“I’m just saying, dude. You said yourself it was uncool,” Finn was saying as Kurt reached the entrance to the living room. As soon as he finished talking he glanced up and caught sight of Kurt, eyes going wide for a second before he forced a dopey, completely unconvincing smile. “Hey, Kurt. I thought you were doing homework.”

“It’s Saturday,” Kurt answered, frowning as he looked between Finn and Puck. Puck didn’t say a word, but he moved over on the couch to make room for Kurt, and when Kurt sat down next to him Puck glanced over.

Instantly his gaze went to Kurt’s neck, eyes flashing dark in a way that sent warmth curling in the pit of Kurt’s stomach. Puck’s fingers twitched on his controller and Kurt could tell he wanted to touch, knew if Finn wasn’t sitting in his dad’s recliner that he _would_ be touching. Maybe kissing Kurt too, and before he could stop himself Kurt reached up and ran his fingers over the mark shaped suspiciously like Puck’s mouth.

“Dude,” Finn said, and Kurt blinked and looked at the TV screen in time to see what he assumed was one of Puck’s players getting thoroughly tackled.

Puck scowled and muttered something about cheap shots as he focused his attention back on the game, but he settled a little further into the couch, thigh pressed against Kurt’s and when Finn looked over at him again Puck didn’t move away. When Finn frowned and turned back to the game Kurt glanced back at Puck, but he was completely focused on the screen now, clearly trying to make up whatever deficit Kurt’s entrance had cost him.

“So where’s Blaine?” Finn asked, and when Puck’s scowl turned even darker Kurt was sure he was missing something.

“At home, I assume,” Kurt answered. “Why?”

“Nothing, he just said something at the mall about you two maybe catching a movie tonight, that’s all.”

Kurt thought about telling them that he and Blaine had broken up. It was the perfect opportunity to let Puck know that Blaine wasn’t an issue anymore, and if he said it to Finn then it wouldn’t even seem like Kurt was expecting something from Puck in return for breaking up with his boyfriend. But if Puck was going to lose interest in him as soon as he found out Kurt was available, he wanted to put it off as long as possible.

“I’m afraid he didn’t mention his plans to me,” Kurt said. “I haven’t spoken to him since I dropped him off at his house. But if you miss him already I could give you his number.”

Next to him Puck snorted a laugh, and Kurt’s lips curved into a pleased smile. He saw Finn frown again, but it was hard to care what Finn’s problem was when Puck seemed unconcerned about the fact that they were pressed against each other right in front of his stepbrother.

“Whatever. Time out, dude,” Finn said, hitting the pause button and setting down his controller. “I gotta pee.”

He stood up, but when he didn’t make a move to leave the living room Kurt raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten where we keep the bathroom again.”

Puck laughed again, low and warm and Kurt felt the tips of his ears start to burn. He held Finn’s gaze anyway, chin lifted as though he was waiting for Finn to argue with him. For a second he thought Finn might, but then he glanced at Puck and snapped his jaw shut before he turned around and left the room. Once he was gone Kurt looked over at Puck, taking in dark eyes and a hint of skin where Puck's shirt rode up at his waist.

"What's the matter with him?" Kurt asked when Finn was gone, but Puck was staring back at him now, and Kurt really didn't want to talk about his stepbrother.

"It's Finn," Puck said, as though that was all the explanation he needed, then he pushed forward and kissed Kurt hard. Kurt made a surprised noise against his mouth, hands coming up to grip Puck's shoulders as he found himself being pressed back into the couch cushions.

And this he definitely wasn't expecting, because Finn wouldn't be gone long, and anyway both his parents were home. There was a good chance someone would walk in and find Puck pushing Kurt back into the cushions, one hand pushing under his shirt and the other on his neck to stroke a thumb over the bruise Puck had left there.

"Puck..." Kurt murmured into the kiss, but his hand left Puck's shoulder to slide around the back of his neck. "We can't..."

"No," Puck said, then he was pulling back to look down at Kurt with a stormy expression. "You don't get to come in here looking like that and say that shit again."

It took a second for Kurt to figure out what he meant. His brain was still stuck on the fact that Puck wanted him enough to take the chance on kissing him right here where anyone could see, so it took a moment or two to realize that Puck thought Kurt meant they couldn't do this because of Blaine.

His heart sped up and he reached up without thinking, hand on Puck's cheek to trace the line of his jaw with his thumb. "That's not what I...why aren't you worried about Finn walking in and catching us?"

"Whatever, like I'm supposed to care if Hudson doesn't think I'm good enough for you," Puck said, surly now, and Kurt hadn't heard him sound like that since he thought they were going to send him back to juvie.

"What are you talking about?" Kurt asked, but before Puck could answer they heard footsteps in the hallway, and a second later Puck was throwing himself back against the couch, further away from Kurt than he was before Finn left. Kurt's thigh felt cold where it wasn't pressed against Puck's anymore, and he frowned at the side of Puck's head until Finn walked in and looked at them.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Puck said before Kurt could answer. "Are we playing, or do you need to go fix your makeup or something?"

He picked up his controller and started the game again, and Finn cast one more frown in Kurt's direction as he sat down and picked up his own controller. Kurt wasn't sure how much longer he sat there watching them play, casting curious glances at Puck every few minutes only to be met with the chiseled lines of Puck's profile in full-on pout mode. And the worst part was that Kurt was the one who'd screwed this up, because Puck had _wanted_ him and he'd gone and opened his mouth and ruined everything.

But there was only so long he was going to sit there with Puck brooding next to him, so finally Kurt stood up and announced that he was going to bed. He knew better than to think he'd get any sleep, but even sitting alone in his bedroom was preferable to watching a computer-generated football game while Puck pretended he didn't exist and Finn kept frowning like he was expecting Kurt to sprout wings or something.

He'd probably blown any chance of Puck sneaking into his room after Finn fell asleep; Kurt had known him long enough to know what he was like when his pride was hurt, and it was obvious that Kurt had said _something_ to upset him. The part he didn't understand was where Finn fit into all of it, and Kurt sort of hoped if Puck wasn't going to sneak into his room that he'd go home altogether so Kurt could corner Finn and find out what was going on.

Except he heard them both an hour later, two sets of footsteps on the stairs and low voices whispering back and forth as they passed his room. They weren't whispering quite as intensely as when Kurt first heard them after dinner, but it was obvious they were still deep in some discussion that had nothing to do with video games.

The thought that it might have something to do with _him_ made Kurt’s heart beat a little faster, and he listened to the sounds of them taking turns in the bathroom, then finally Finn’s door closing and the house going quiet. Kurt was fairly sure his dad and Carole had gone to bed awhile ago, but he crept across his room to his door and opened it as quietly as he could anyway. He glanced down the hall, but the whole house was dark, and Kurt let out a quiet breath and left his door ajar before he crossed back to his bed.

He had no idea how long he laid there, listening to the house creaking and the heat cycling on and off. With every new noise he strained to listen, holding his breath for the moment that he’d hear footsteps outside his door. And there was no reason to expect Puck to show up, not after the way he’d resolutely _not_ looked at Kurt when he left Finn and Puck in the living room. Chances were he was already fast asleep in Finn’s room, and the next time Kurt saw Puck would be at breakfast with the rest of his family around.

He was trying to convince himself that it didn’t matter when he heard a door open down the hall, and Kurt’s heart skipped a beat as he sat up and squinted in the darkness toward his door. The footsteps were muffled by the carpet, but Kurt held his breath and strained to hear them coming closer, until finally Puck pushed his door a little further open and slipped inside.

Puck closed the door behind him, then he turned around and as Kurt’s eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw that Puck was shirtless. Kurt’s stomach trembled and he glanced down at his own pajamas, feeling suddenly overdressed as Puck crossed the room and stopped next to the bed.

“I thought you might have changed your mind,” Kurt said, his voice trembling a little, and he hoped Puck wouldn’t notice.

The mattress shifted under him as Puck planted a knee on the bed, and as soon as he did Kurt reached out to grip his hand and pull him forward. Puck let himself be pulled onto the bed, fingers threading through Kurt’s and stretching out on his side to look up at him.

“Finn wouldn’t shut the hell up, then it took him forever to fall asleep. I was about to say fuck it and just ditch him anyway when he finally passed out.”

Kurt’s stomach tied into knots at the thought of Puck telling Finn where he was going, and he tightened his grip on Puck’s hand and inched a little closer on the mattress. “Puck, are you saying that you told Finn about…this?”

“It wasn’t my fault, babe,” Puck said, the surliness creeping back into his voice. “He wouldn’t shut the hell up about your boy and how cool it was that you guys had each other or whatever. All I said was I thought you could do better, then he was all over me about not messing things up for you.”

“You said I could do better?” Kurt asked, blinking at Puck in the darkness.

Puck shrugged and looked down at the mattress between them, but when he tried to pull his hand away Kurt tightened his grip even more. “I might have said something about your boy not deserving somebody as hot as you if he wasn’t gonna appreciate it.”

There was a lot Kurt wanted to ask, like why Puck didn’t care if Finn knew what was going on between them, or why Finn thought it was any of his business in the first place. He could ask why Puck had gotten so upset earlier when he thought Kurt was trying to tell him to stop because of Blaine, or maybe why Puck had snuck into his room even though he thought Kurt was still cheating on his boyfriend.

But his heart was pounding hard in his chest and he was pretty sure if he tried to talk that he’d do something stupid and embarrassing like cry, so instead he leaned forward and pressed their lips together.

As soon as Kurt kissed him Puck was moving, reaching up to drag him down onto the mattress, arms around him and pulling him close until they were pressed so close together Kurt could feel Puck’s heartbeat through his chest. He slid his arms around Puck’s neck and held on, arching up to drag Puck even closer and hooking a leg around Puck’s thighs.

Kurt sighed into the kiss and Puck took the in, tongue pushing past parted lips to chase the flavors of toothpaste and Kurt until he was moaning and rocking against Puck. It was way too much and not nearly enough, and Kurt knew if they didn’t slow down it would be over long before either of them was ready. But they had all night, so maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing if the first time was frenzied and out of control.

Puck was rocking against him, hand on Kurt’s ass and pulling him up into each thrust, and it felt fantastic, but Kurt knew it would be even better without their clothes. As soon as he thought it Puck was moving, pulling away far enough to hook his thumbs in his sweatpants and drag them down his hips. He kicked them off before he turned back to Kurt, hands on his pajamas and fumbling with the buttons until he got enough of them open for Kurt to yank the top over his head.

As soon as he dropped it over the side of the bed Puck was pushing him backwards, onto the pillows to stare up at Puck as he planted a knee on either side of Kurt’s thighs and reached for the waistband of his pants. His fingers skimmed Kurt’s stomach just below his belly button, and he let out a shaky breath when Puck dragged the fabric down just a little.

He held his breath while he waited for the moment Puck pulled his pajamas down the rest of the way, leaving Kurt on full display. And it wasn’t even the first time, but tonight felt different somehow.

Kurt lifted his hips and Puck took the hint, smirking as he slid the fabric down Kurt’s thighs and off. When he realized Kurt wasn’t wearing any underwear he lifted an eyebrow, but instead of commenting he tossed the pajamas over the edge of the bed before he crawled up Kurt to press their lips together again.

And this was what Kurt had been waiting for, thinking about all day and trying not to picture so he wouldn’t spend the entire afternoon impossibly hard. But it was impossible not to think about Puck’s hands on him now that he knew how it felt, Puck’s mouth moving against his and his erection pressing insistently into Kurt’s thigh.

The fact that he was hard because of _Kurt_ was still hard to believe, but Puck was kissing him like he’d never get enough, like he’d been thinking about this moment just as much as Kurt, and when Kurt’s heart stuttered in his chest he didn’t care if Puck felt it.

“Puck,” Kurt said, like a prayer against his lips as he slid his hand up the back of Puck’s scalp. “We need…”

Puck nodded and let go of him again, stretching up to fumble in the drawer for the lube Kurt had stashed after he kicked Blaine out the night before. Then Puck was back, dropping the bottle on the mattress and pausing to look Kurt right in the eyes.

“Break up with him.”

“What?” Kurt stammered, blinking and trying to focus on the sound of Puck’s voice through the haze of lust in his brain.

“I mean it, babe,” Puck said, and he sounded almost angry, but Kurt was starting to recognize the sound of Puck trying not to show fear. “He can’t give you what you need. Hell, he can’t even stay awake.”

Kurt laughed, soft and breathy, and okay, a little guilty, but what Blaine didn’t know wasn’t going to hurt him any more than Kurt already had. He took a deep breath and reached up, hand on Puck’s cheek to trace the rough scratch of stubble along his jaw.

“I already did.”

“You what?” Puck asked, hand sliding down Kurt’s side, and there was no way he could focus on a conversation if Puck was going to keep doing that. “Seriously?”

Kurt nodded against the pillow, and his heart was pounding so hard now he thought it might come right out of his chest. “This afternoon, after we left the mall. I started to do it in the food court, but then you three showed up and I didn’t think he’d appreciate the audience, considering.”

For a second Puck looked as though he thought an audience was exactly what Blaine needed. And the truth was he hadn’t minded having an audience during their brief foray into polyamory, so maybe Puck had a point. But Kurt didn’t really want to talk about it, not when Puck was naked and still hard and looking at him like he’d never really seen Kurt before.

“Then why’d you try to stop me before?” Puck asked, frowning down at him, and Kurt stopped just short of rolling his eyes.

“Because I assumed you wouldn’t want Finn to know about this.”

“Are you kidding? He’s been hassling me all night about being a home wrecker. If you’d just told him you already dumped Blaine’s ass he would have stopped riding mine.”

Kurt bit back a joke about Finn doing anything to Puck’s ass, mainly because he didn’t want the mental picture to eradicate from his imagination. “He doesn’t know about our... _arrangement_ , does he?”

“You mean does he know I fucked your boyfriend just to get in your pants? No.” Puck leaned in to open his mouth against Kurt’s neck, tongue sliding along Kurt’s skin before he huffed a hot breath over the spot. “I’m pretty sure he couldn’t handle hearing that about his boy crush. Seriously, you’re better off without him, babe. I think Finn’s totally in love with the guy.”

Kurt snorted a laugh that sounded far too loud in the quiet of the room, then he buried his face in Puck’s neck and listened for a moment to make sure none of his family members had heard them and come to investigate. “I’m pretty sure that’s just Finn’s idea of being supportive.”

“Whatever, he doesn’t have to worry about it anymore,” Puck said, pulling back to look at Kurt. “You’re mine now.”

Kurt’s breath caught in his throat, hands frozen on Puck’s back and blinking up at him. “I am?”

“Yeah, I mean, you are, right?” Puck asked, suddenly unsure, and the fact that Puck could sound that way about _him_ made Kurt’s heart do a tap dance in his chest.

“Yes,” Kurt said, nodding again and tightening his grip on Puck to pull him forward, arching up to meet him halfway and whisper against his lips. “I…yes.”

“Good,” Puck said, and Kurt felt Puck’s voice rumbling in his chest. He kissed Puck hard, dragging him forward and rocking up against him, leg hooked around his thighs and Puck groaned and pushed forward to meet him.

Puck’s hands were everywhere, lifting him up and dragging him close, fingers skimming his ass and dipping between his cheeks until Kurt was making needy noises in the back of his throat and rocking up against him. He felt around on the mattress above him, hunting blindly for the lube Puck had dropped there just a few minutes ago.

When his hand finally closed around it he pushed it into Puck’s hand, neck arched to give Puck better access as Puck took the lube and flipped it open. And they were going to have to have a discussion about leaving marks where his father could see, because if they were going to be open about their relationship there was no way his father was going to let Puck in the house if he kept leaving evidence all over Kurt’s neck.

His heart skipped another beat at the thought of a relationship with Puck. He knew it could be a disaster; they barely spoke the same language half the time, and they hardly had anything in common. But Puck wanted to be with him – wanted it enough to let Finn know about it – and Kurt had never wanted anything to work so much in his life.

Two fingers slid inside him, and Kurt bit down on a moan and rocked up to pull Puck even deeper. He was trying to remember to be quiet, because Finn was right down the hall and his parents were just downstairs, but then Puck twisted his fingers and Kurt choked on a gasp and bit down hard on Puck’s shoulder.

“Fuck, babe,” Puck said, voice close to Kurt’s ear, and he sounded sort of surprised. Kurt laughed against his skin and brushed a kiss against the spot, then he fell back against the pillow and reached for the lube to pour some in his hand and wrap slick fingers around Puck’s cock.

Puck groaned again and thrust into his grip, hips moving in a steady rhythm and when Kurt said, "Puck, please," he didn't laugh. Instead he eased his fingers out of Kurt, ignoring the soft hiss of loss that escaped Kurt's throat. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to the corner of Kurt's mouth before he lined himself up, one hand under Kurt's thigh to hold him open as he slid into tight heat.

Kurt bit down hard on a fresh moan and angled his hips up to meet Puck, rocking into each stroke and clenching hard around him to drag him even deeper. Puck's mouth landed on his neck to suck hard at his skin, and Kurt arched up into the new sensation and ground down even harder onto Puck's dick. He could hear the breathy little noises escaping his throat, high and needy and he sounded _desperate_ , but he couldn't make himself stop.

He _felt_ desperate, all the fear that Puck might change his mind giving way to the need to get as close to Puck as possible. Puck was talking, murmuring Kurt's name over and over against his skin, and when Kurt slid a hand around the back of his neck Puck pulled back just far enough to look at him.

Just looking, as though maybe he was having a little trouble believing this was really happening too. The thought made Kurt's heart clench hard in his chest, and he surged up to press their lips together, kissing Puck hard and rocking up against him, panting against his mouth and just holding on as though this was the only thing holding him together.

It felt a little like that was true, as though maybe if he let go he'd start shaking and never stop until he came apart completely. And maybe Puck could tell, because strong arms slid around Kurt, pushing him back into the mattress and whispering near his ear, _Kurt_ and _I've got you_ , over and over as he thrust forward in a slow, steady rhythm.

Kurt's dick was trapped between them, painfully hard and with every drag of Puck's stomach against it he let out a high, broken moan. He should have been embarrassed, because he could hear how he sounded, but Puck was pressing kisses to his neck and his shoulder, the side of his face and finally his mouth, lips parted to swallow Kurt's needy moans until finally he sucked in a harsh breath and came on both their stomachs.

Without Puck even touching him, and Kurt wondered vaguely if he should be embarrassed, but he was too busy melting into the mattress to worry about it. Puck didn’t even wait for him to stop shaking before he was moving, pushing Kurt’s knees up and apart, arms braced against the mattress to hold him open as Puck pushed back inside him.

All Kurt could do was hold on as Puck pounded into him, hitting that spot inside him that made him see stars, sending electric jolts of hot pleasure coursing through him and leaving him panting and wrecked and still desperate for more. He wanted everything, things he hadn’t even thought of yet, and he wanted it all from Puck. Wanted this to last forever, because as soon as it was over Kurt would start thinking again, and he wanted to feel like this for as long as he could.

But not even Puck could last forever, and when Kurt reached down and closed a hand around Puck’s where it was resting on the mattress next to him, Puck moaned low in his throat and came. Kurt arched up to swallow the sound with a kiss, letting Puck pant against his mouth as he shook his way through his orgasm.

His muscles were tense, arms locked and Kurt ran his hands up and down Puck’s skin, making soothing noises against his mouth until Puck let out a breathy laugh and dropped onto the mattress next to him.

Kurt shifted onto his stomach, wincing a little at the burn in his ass as he rested his head on his arms to watch Puck’s chest rising and falling with each heavy breath. He was staring up at the ceiling, eyes wide and mouth curved into a self-satisfied little smirk, and Kurt couldn’t help smiling back.

“You look awfully pleased with yourself.”

“Hell, I’m just happy to be alive,” Puck answered, turning his head to look at Kurt. “I think you might kill me, babe.”

“This was all your idea, if you’ll recall,” Kurt reminded him, but he was still smiling, and when Puck turned onto his side to curve a hand around Kurt’s ass he didn’t complain. “Besides, I’ve heard the stories about your stamina.”

“Yeah, but that was before I did it with another dude,” Puck said, as though Kurt would know the difference. “If I’d known what I was missing I would have tried it a long time ago.”

Kurt’s smile faded into a thoughtful expression, reaching out with one hand to trace Puck’s bottom lip with his thumb. “So the first time was…”

“Last weekend,” Puck answered, catching Kurt’s thumb between his teeth and sliding his tongue along the pad before he let go again. “You were there, remember?”

“So how did you…” Kurt paused, trying to decide the right way to ask how Puck managed to know what he was doing when he’d never experimented with another guy before. He certainly hadn’t needed any instruction from either of them, and as far as Kurt knew Blaine didn’t have any more complaints – at least about the actual sex – than he did.

“Porn,” Puck answered, grinning when Kurt frowned. “What? It’s educational.”

Kurt huffed a noncommittal sigh and pulled his hand away from Puck’s mouth, but before he could tuck it back under his head Puck caught it and used it to drag Kurt a little closer.

“How come you hate it so much, anyway?”

Kurt felt himself blush and was glad for the darkness in the room. He lifted one shoulder in an awkward shrug and looked down at their hands, still linked together on the mattress between them.

“It’s just so…embarrassing. I always end up thinking about the actors and how they ended up doing _that_ for a living, and then I start thinking about their mothers and whether or not they know where their sons are.”

“Babe,” Puck said when Kurt stopped to take a breath, and Kurt could hear the laughter in his voice, but it sounded more amused than mean, “you gotta learn to stop thinking so hard all the time.”

The heat in his face spread down his neck and across his chest, and Kurt arched an eyebrow at Puck from up close. “And I suppose you’re going to teach me how?”

“Well I am kind of an expert,” Puck said, and when he grinned and leaned in to press their lips together, Kurt decided that maybe he had a point.

~

He wasn’t sure how long they slept before Kurt woke up again, a heavy arm draped around his waist and just this side of too warm, in spite of the fact that they’d managed to kick the covers mostly off the bed at some point. Kurt was fairly sure his bed looked like…well, like he’d been having noisy and enthusiastic sex, and if his laundry volume kept increasing he was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

Kurt reached for his phone long enough to see that it was just past 4:00 am, but when the arm on his waist tightened he set the phone down and let Puck pull him back against the solid warmth of his body. He knew it was dangerous, letting Puck stay the night, but it was the first time they’d ever been able to do this without worrying that Blaine was going to wake up and ask what was going on, and Kurt wanted to enjoy it for awhile longer.

He wanted the weight of Puck’s arm around him, the solid press of all that skin and the feeling of Puck’s dick nestled against his ass. Kurt pushed back experimentally, and when Puck hummed something he didn’t catch and thrust forward to meet him, Kurt realized he wasn’t quite as asleep as he was pretending.

Puck mumbled something that Kurt was pretty sure amounted to ‘what time is it?’ right up next to his ear, and Kurt bit down on his lip to hold back a shiver. “Early. My dad won’t be up for a couple hours at least. You can go back to sleep for awhile if you like.”

The only answer he got was a low chuckle, vibrating in Puck’s chest and making the knot of want in Kurt’s stomach curl a little more tightly. Puck’s hand rested on Kurt’s stomach, fingers spread wide and when he thrust forward this time he pulled Kurt back into him. He slipped between Kurt’s cheeks, and Kurt bit down on a gasp at the tease and pushed back even harder.

The hand on his stomach disappeared, feeling around on the mattress for the lube they’d dropped earlier, and when Puck finally found it Kurt bit back a relieved sigh this time. A minute later two fingers pushed inside him, and Kurt moaned and ground back into his touch.

“Thoughtful, if…unnecessary,” Kurt said, his voice breaking when Puck twisted his fingers just a little.

“Yeah, but you’re so hot when you beg for it,” Puck answered, his mouth on the side of Kurt’s neck and sending hot shivers down Kurt’s spine. He pushed his fingers in and out of Kurt a few more times, then they disappeared and Kurt swallowed a sigh at the loss.

He was too busy trying not to moan so loud he woke up the entire house to worry about how he looked, but at least Puck seemed to be enjoying the show. Kurt blushed at the thought, then Puck’s hand slid under his thigh, pushing it up and holding him open as he lined himself up and slid inside. Kurt forgot all about appearances as soon as Puck pushed inside him, moaning and dropping his head back onto Puck’s shoulder to get him as close as possible.

They didn’t have much room to move in this position, but the shallow thrusts of Puck’s hips hit him in just the right place, and Kurt closed his eyes tight and gripped the hand that was resting on his hip. Puck’s other arm circled his shoulders, then a finger slid along his bottom lip, teasing until Kurt opened his mouth and let Puck push his fingers inside. He sucked hard on Puck’s middle and index fingers while Puck fucked him, and he didn’t even think about how he must look, because Puck’s hand was at least muffling the sound of his moans.

He’d always thought of himself as the quiet type, but nothing had ever made him feel the way Puck did, like he was actually worth looking at. _Him_ , not the clothes or the hair or even his voice, just…him. His heart thudded hard in his chest at the thought and he let Puck’s fingers slip free, then he turned his face into Puck’s hand and pressed a kiss to the center of his palm.

The body behind him shuddered and Kurt grinned, pushing back to drag Puck even deeper inside. He clenched hard around Puck, dragging a moan out of him as Puck pulled back and slammed into him again. Over and over, moving a little more erratically with each thrust until they were both breathing hard and pushing for more.

“Puck,” Kurt said, over and over, chanting the name like a mantra, and when a hand reached down to close around his cock Kurt dug his fingers into Puck’s thigh and came in his hand.

Puck’s mouth moved on his neck, pressing hot kisses to sweat-slick skin. And Kurt knew he was a mess; his hair was a disaster and he was covered in sweat and come and the smell of sex. The smell of _Puck_ , and that was the thought that made him turn in Puck’s grip, ignoring the sense of loss when Puck slipped out of him to push Puck onto his back.

He’d never actually done this before. When he did manage to get Blaine to agree to top, he’d mostly been on his knees, because it was easier for him to enjoy the sensation when he wasn’t worrying about whether or not Blaine was looking at him.

But there was no hiding from Puck; he was _always_ looking, gaze heavy with want and Kurt was starting to like the way it felt. He knelt over Puck, knees pressed against his thighs and when Puck reached up and gripped his hips Kurt lined himself up and sank onto Puck’s cock again.

Puck was still talking, murmuring under his breath and Kurt couldn’t be sure, but he thought Puck might be praying. Which was kind of weird, considering, but it was Puck, so Kurt didn’t ask. Instead he let Puck grip his hips hard and thrust up into him, sinking down to meet each stroke until his thighs were shaking just from the tension. It was too much, Puck’s eyes on him and his hands on Kurt’s skin, Puck pushing inside him over and over, and when Kurt couldn’t take it anymore he surged forward and kissed Puck hard.

Instantly an arm went around his waist, pulling him close and lifting up at the same time until they were moving together again, mouths pressed together and just breathing each other’s air while Kurt rode him. He could tell Puck was close, knew by the increasingly wild thrusts of his hips and Kurt clenched hard around him with each thrust until finally Puck grunted against his mouth and came.

It took awhile for Puck to catch his breath. When he finally stopped shaking he collapsed back onto the bed, eyes closed and Kurt thought he might pass out the way Blaine used to do. Not that Kurt could blame him, considering, but it was getting later, and he knew he’d have to kick Puck out before long.

He climbed off the bed and headed to his bathroom to clean up the lube, then he crossed back to the bed and slid down onto the mattress next to Puck. As soon as he did Puck’s eyes opened, and when he reached out Kurt let Puck pull him forward for a soft kiss.

“If I stay here much longer I’m gonna fall asleep again, and then your dad’ll find me here and murder me,” Puck said, and the regret in his voice made Kurt’s heart skip a beat.

“He won’t murder you. He’ll just ground me for the rest of senior year.”

“That’s even worse,” Puck answered, but so far he hadn’t made a move to get up. “If you’re stuck up in your room all the time I’ll never even be able to see you. Besides, we’ve got Regionals, then Nationals, plus there’s prom.”

And if his heart kept stopping and starting like this Kurt was fairly sure he was going to end up in the hospital, but the thought of Puck already planning for prom – with _Kurt_ , as though that made any sense at all – made his heart race faster than ever.

“You could go back to Finn’s room,” Kurt suggested, but he didn’t loosen his grip on Puck’s waist.

“Like I’m gonna be able to go back to sleep knowing you’re right down the hall looking like this,” Puck said. He pressed forward and kissed Kurt again, but instead of the hard, insistent kiss he’d been expecting, it was slow and soft and almost…sweet. When he pulled back he was smiling, hand coming up to push through Kurt’s hair. “Besides, not like I can sit at breakfast with your family smelling like this.”

Kurt inhaled sharply, taking in the mingled scents of sweat and boy and sex. “You smell good.”

Puck huffed a soft laugh and brushed another kiss against the corner of Kurt’s mouth. “I smell like you.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“No, babe,” Puck said, punctuating the words with a kiss as he pushed Kurt back into the pillows again, “not even close.”

~

Once Puck finally left Kurt tried to go back to sleep, but eventually he gave up and climbed into the shower to wash the evidence of the night before off him. When he was clean and dressed he changed his sheets, tossing the ones they’d destroyed in the wash and starting the machine before he headed to the kitchen to start the coffee.

He knew better than to expect to find Puck still lurking around; Kurt had seen him head back down the hall to Finn’s room for his clothes, then he’d heard the front door closing behind Puck when he let himself out. Chances were he was back home in his own bed, fast asleep like a normal teenage boy.

A normal teenage boy who’d spent most of the night having amazing sex, Kurt reminded himself, blushing at the thought and smiling to himself as he filled the carafe and poured water into the coffee maker. He was humming one of Mr. Schuester’s awful classic rock ballads under his breath when the kitchen door opened, and Kurt looked up to find Finn frowning at him.

“You’re up early,” he said, but he didn’t quite manage to wipe the smile off his face.

“I guess,” Finn answered, his gaze straying to Kurt’s neck, and he really had to remember to cover all that before he ran into any parents. “Have you seen Puck? I woke up and he wasn’t there.”

Kurt bit back the urge to congratulate Finn on his extraordinary grasp of the obvious. Instead he poured a cup of coffee and handed it over, nodding an acknowledgement of Finn’s thanks before he poured one for himself.

“He went home. I’d imagine partially in order to avoid another lecture from you. And don’t try to pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Kurt added when Finn opened his mouth to deny it.

He watched Finn blush, but he closed his mouth and glanced down at his coffee before he looked up at Kurt again. “I was just trying to look out for you, Kurt. We’re brothers now, that’s my job, right? I figured you and Blaine seemed pretty happy together, and you didn’t need Puck getting all weird and messing things up.”

His stomach twisted at the word ‘weird’, and Kurt pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes at Finn. “So it’s weird that he’d be interested in me?”

“Dude, no,” Finn said, but he was blushing even harder now, and they both knew Kurt had good reason to be suspicious. “I mean, I guess it's a little weird, Puck being into guys all of a sudden.”

When he saw the look on Kurt’s face he swallowed hard, then he glanced over his shoulder like maybe he was thinking about making a run for it. “Not that liking guys is weird. It’s just...it’s Puck. He’s always given me shit about turning gay eventually, but I didn’t expect him to be the one to do it.”

Kurt got what he was saying; of all of them Puck had always seemed the least likely to come out one day, and as far as Kurt was concerned he still hadn’t done any such thing. For all he knew Puck was just going through some kind of phase, but he’d been more than enthusiastic about it so far, and Kurt was willing to consider that maybe Puck had just needed some practical experience before he realized where his real interests lay.

“I confess that I didn’t really believe it at first either,” Kurt conceded. He shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest, coffee mug still balanced in one hand as he watched Finn. “But he can be very...convincing.”

Finn blushed even harder at that, but he held Kurt’s gaze, and Kurt figured that was progress. “It's not just the gay thing. He broke up me and Quinn just because he was jealous. I don’t want to see him do the same thing to you.”

In a way it was sort of sweet, Kurt supposed. Still, it was none of Finn’s business, and anyway it wasn’t as though he was some great relationship expert. “Yes, well, much like yourself and Quinn, Blaine and I were already headed down that road before Puck ever got involved. He couldn’t have come between any of us if we’d been happy in our situations.”

Finn shrugged, which Kurt assumed was agreement, then he frowned again. “So you and Blaine…? But you seemed so solid.”

“Let’s just say I didn’t know what I was missing at the time and leave it at that.” Kurt blushed and turned away from Finn long enough to add a little more creamer to his coffee. “I ended it yesterday.”

“Oh,” Finn said, his own ears turning red, and Kurt could tell he was trying not to picture what Kurt had been missing and how he’d figured out that he’d been missing it. “So…wait. Were you guys breaking up when we saw you at the mall?”

“I hadn’t actually gotten around to it at that point,” Kurt answered. “But regardless of when it happened, it wasn’t Puck’s fault.”

"Yeah, but you and Puck are, like, together now, right? He said he wasn’t just messing with you. If you need me to I can kick his ass. I mean, that's sort of my job now too."

Maybe he should have mentioned the part where Puck had asked him to break up with Blaine. But it still wasn’t any of Finn’s business, and besides, they were already broken up at that point, so it didn’t count. Instead he smiled at Finn over the rim of his coffee cup, and when Finn grinned back at him Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. At least I hope it won't."

The truth was he wasn't a hundred percent sure what they were doing, exactly. They hadn't discussed what happened at school on Monday, for one thing. Puck seemed resigned to the inevitability of Kurt's family finding out about them, but that didn't necessarily mean he was comfortable with the entire William McKinley student body knowing that they were...them.

Kurt's hand landed on his neck, pressing against Puck's latest handiwork and feeling the heat rising from the bruise. When he realized what he was doing he blushed and pulled his hand away, but when he looked up and saw Finn blushing too Kurt knew he hadn't missed it.

“Seriously, Finn. Thanks.”

Finn grinned then, reaching out to clap an overlarge hand on Kurt’s shoulder for a second before he pulled away again. “Don’t mention it, dude. We’re brothers now; it’s...”

“...your job, yes, we’ve established that.” Kurt rolled his eyes when Finn laughed, but he couldn’t quite hide his smile.

“But hey, if things do work out with you guys, it’ll be a lot easier to double date now. At least I’ll have somebody to talk to.”

For a second Kurt just looked at him, then he set his coffee down on the counter and raised an eyebrow. “I’m letting you suggest that to Puck. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have laundry to see to,” he said, then he left Finn standing in the kitchen with his mouth open and went to put his sheets in the dryer.

~

A few hours later Kurt was sitting in the center of his bed, books spread out around him and failing miserably at focusing on his homework. As much as he loved _Les Miserables_ , it was impossible to concentrate on the French Revolution when he kept picturing Puck in his bed, smiling at him and kissing him, over him and in him, and every time he remembered Kurt had to take a second to breathe before he could get back on task.

Which meant he’d been reading the same paragraph for almost an hour, and he hadn’t even made a start on the paper he was supposed to be writing.

He sighed and glanced at his phone again, but the screen remained stubbornly blank. Not that Puck had promised to call or anything, and Kurt knew he had no right to expect it, even after last night. But he sort of hoped he’d hear from Puck before tomorrow, if only so he could try to figure out how he was supposed to act when he saw Puck in the halls.

Still, the fact remained that he didn’t even know if Puck was his boyfriend now, or if they were something else altogether. It sounded like he wanted that when he’d asked if Kurt was his, but he hadn’t elaborated, and knowing Puck he could have just meant he didn’t want a third party distracting him while they were having sex.

He was so busy replaying the entire night over and over again in his head that he didn’t hear the doorbell ring, and he barely registered the sound of voices in the front hall. When he heard footsteps on the stairs he glanced up, expecting to see Finn coming back from Rachel’s, maybe, or his dad coming up to see if he wanted to go hang out at the garage for awhile.

When he caught sight of Puck walking through his door Kurt’s heart skipped a beat, and when Puck smirked at him he knew his mouth was hanging open. He blushed and closed it again, watching Puck cross the room to slide onto the mattress behind him.

“Hey, babe,” Puck said, and Kurt knew he should be embarrassed at the affect just Puck’s _voice_ had on him, but when a hand landed on his waist he decided he didn’t care. “Miss me?”

“Maybe a little,” Kurt answered, closing his history book and shoving it out of the way before he turned to look at Puck. “I didn’t expect to see you again today.”

“I can take off if you’re busy,” Puck said, frowning now and pushing off the mattress, and Kurt reached out before he could stop himself and closed a hand around Puck’s arm.

“No, I...” Kurt paused and swallowed, willing his heart to stop racing long enough to convince himself that Puck was really there. “I’m glad to see you. Stay.”

Just like that Puck’s smirk was back, and when he reached out to grip the front of Kurt’s shirt he didn’t complain about crimes against fashion. He just let Puck pull him forward, a hand coming up to curve around Puck’s cheek as Kurt leaned in to kiss him.

He smiled against Puck’s mouth, and when Puck laughed and pulled back to grin at him Kurt gave up on his heart ever behaving normally again. “Hi.”

“Hey,” Puck said, tugging at the front of Kurt’s shirt again, and Kurt frowned and reached down to catch his hand.

“Careful. This is Marc Jacobs.”

Puck rolled his eyes, but he stopped worrying Kurt’s buttons between his fingers and edged a little closer on the mattress. “Whatever, babe. So what are you studying, anyway?”

“The French Revolution,” Kurt said, sighing and glancing at his discarded history book. “But not even thinking of Marius on the barricade is helping me focus, I’m afraid.”

“Who’s Marius?” Puck frowned and glanced over at Kurt’s book as though maybe he was going to find evidence of another secret boyfriend stashed somewhere.

“No one,” Kurt said, his fingers threading through Puck’s to pull him forward again. “It doesn’t matter.”

For a second Puck looked like he might argue, so Kurt kissed him again, slow and soft and when he pulled back to look Puck’s eyes were closed and his lips were parted. The sight made Kurt’s chest feel weirdly tight, and he was leaning in to pick up where he’d left off when he heard a throat clear from the doorway.

Kurt straightened up and looked over his shoulder, face flushing when he found his dad frowning at him. “Son, you busy or...Puckerman?”

Kurt heard Puck’s sigh and squeezed his hand a little harder, and when Puck squeezed back he knew it was going to be fine. “Did you want something, Dad?”

“I came up to see if you wanted to ride over to the shop with me,” Burt said. “I didn’t know you had company.”

“Sorry,” Kurt said, and he meant it, because normally he didn’t mind keeping his dad company at the shop. “I didn’t know Puck was coming over.”

He knew his dad couldn’t see from the door that Puck was holding his hand, but he was stretched out on Kurt’s bed, propped up on his side and far too close for casual conversation, and it had to be obvious that things had changed between them.

“What happened to the other kid?”

“We broke up,” Kurt answered, casting a quick glance at Puck. “Irreconcilable differences.”

His dad’s eyebrows went up and his gaze slid past Kurt to Puck again, but instead of answering he just nodded. “I’ll leave you two alone, then.”

Kurt smiled, tight-lipped and perhaps a little awkward, but he meant it all the same. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Door open,” his dad said, and Kurt blushed and rolled his eyes. “And Puckerman, no more sleeping over.”

“Oh my God,” Kurt said, blushing even harder now, but Puck’s hand squeezed his tight and he nodded at Kurt’s father.

“Good,” Kurt’s dad said, nodding in Puck’s direction once before he backed into the hall.

Kurt watched until he was gone, then he turned back to Puck and dropped his forehead onto Puck’s shoulder. He heard Puck laugh, then a hand landed on the back of his neck, and Kurt groaned and pushed back into Puck’s touch. “He’s ridiculous.”

"Come on, Kurt, we knew that was gonna happen." Puck smirked again, glancing past Kurt toward the door before he slid a hand up Kurt's thigh. "Sucks, though. Last night was awesome."

Heat curled in Kurt's stomach at the memory, and he laughed into Puck's shoulder. "This morning wasn't so bad either."

Puck shifted underneath him, turning into Kurt and lifting Kurt's face until they were eye to eye. "Babe. This morning was fucking amazing."

Before Kurt could do more than blush Puck was kissing him again, harder this time, pulling him close and Kurt didn't care about his Marc Jacobs shirt anymore. All he cared about was getting closer to Puck, chests pressed together and Kurt's arms around Puck's shoulders to hold him there so Kurt could keep kissing him for as long as possible.

He knew his dad was probably still lurking around downstairs somewhere, trying to figure out when Puck had gone from Finn's friend to Kurt's...boyfriend. Carole was home too, and if either of them walked in right now, the 'door open' rule probably wouldn't be enough anymore. But Kurt couldn't bring himself to stop, not when Puck was kissing him like it was the answer to some question he was too afraid to ask.

The thought of Puck afraid of anything made Kurt want to laugh, except that he'd seen Puck's face last night when he asked Kurt to break up with Blaine. Like it was killing him to have to ask, and Kurt's heart clenched in his chest as he pulled back to look at Puck again.

"I want you to know..." he said, at the same moment Puck said, "I talked to Rachel."

And okay, that wasn't exactly what Kurt had expected from the moment he'd thought they were having. He pulled back a little, easing his grip on Puck's shoulders and raising an eyebrow. "Today?"

"She called and woke my ass up at like 10:00," Puck said, frowning as though he couldn't believe even Rachel would be capable of that level of rudeness. Though considering the amount of sleep they’d both gotten the night before, Kurt couldn't really blame him. "She says your boy called her last night and spent like an hour talking her ear off about how you thought you were in love with me and how he was worried you were going to get your heart stomped on or whatever."

Kurt's face grew hotter and hotter with every word out of Puck's mouth, and by the time he got to 'love' Kurt felt like he was on fire. And he understood that Blaine was hurt, but to call Rachel, of all people, knowing what a big mouth she had, and tell her something so personal...that was just vindictive.

"Puck, I..."

"She wanted to know if she needed to stage some kind of intervention," Puck said, talking over him, and Kurt couldn't decide whether to be grateful or annoyed. "Like us hooking up is going to bring down New Directions or something."

Any other time Kurt would have said something biting about Rachel's own love life and how the rest of them couldn't hold a candle to her when it came to relationship drama. But this was _his_ relationship they were talking about, and the fact that Blaine had told Rachel exactly how Kurt felt about Puck, knowing it would get back to him...well, it felt a little like being outed all over again.

"What did you say?"

"What do you think?" Puck said, smirking again, and Kurt's stomach did a somersault at the sight. "I told her she didn't need to worry about it, because I know how to keep you happy."

His voice dropped a little at the end of the sentence, the sound going straight to Kurt's dick. And he was fairly sure Puck was quoting directly, which meant Puck had no problem with Rachel knowing they were sleeping together.

"You realize you said this to Rachel," Kurt said, his hands sliding down Puck's chest to worry the fabric of his t-shirt between two fingers. "She can't even keep her own secrets."

"So?"

"So everyone's going to know, Puck," Kurt said, ignoring Puck's frown. "Not just the rest of Glee. The whole school will know. Are you sure you're prepared for that?"

"Babe," Puck said, catching Kurt's hand and easing it away from his chest so he could pull Kurt flush against him, "I wasn't the one with something to hide here."

He swallowed Kurt's gasp with a kiss, tongue pushing past Kurt's teeth and kissing Kurt hard, hands on him to drag him impossibly closer and Kurt was tempted to push him down onto the pillows and hope his parents stayed downstairs for awhile. But as soon as he thought it Puck pulled back, lips red and wet and it was all Kurt could do not to dive back in for more.

"Your boy wants you back."

"He's not my boy," Kurt said, and he sounded angrier than he planned, but the thing was, he _was_ angry. At Blaine, mostly, for being petty enough to call Rachel, and at himself for handling this whole situation as badly as possible. "And I don't care what he wants. I don't want him."

"Yeah? What do you want?" Puck asked, grinning now, and Kurt rolled his eyes and looked away.

"You know."

Puck shifted again and leaned up to press warm lips to Kurt's neck, tongue sliding along the mark he'd left there the night before. "Yeah, babe, but I wanna hear you say it."

Kurt bit his lip, his stomach fluttering at the thought of actually saying it out loud. He’d showed Puck what he wanted, and Blaine had made sure that Puck heard in no uncertain terms exactly how he felt. So it shouldn’t be hard to open his mouth and just say the words, but his stomach tied in knots and he took another deep breath before he lifted his chin and met Puck’s steady gaze.

“I want you.”

His whole faced burned as he said it, but when he saw the way Puck’s eyes went dark he decided it was worth a little embarrassment. Besides, it wasn’t like Puck had a problem saying exactly the same thing to Kurt, and that was before he knew how Kurt really felt about him.

“Good. Because I told Rachel the next time she talks to your ex, she should tell him he already blew his chance and he should back the fuck off.”

The intensity in Puck’s voice sent a shiver down Kurt’s spine, and he rolled his eyes at his own predictability, because he never thought he’d be the type to get turned on by jealousy. Then again, he’d never really expected anyone to be jealous over him – that one unfortunate incident with Mercedes and his windshield aside – and the fact that someone like Puck could be jealous over him was unthinkable.

Yet here he was, dark and scowling, bottom lip sticking out invitingly, and Kurt leaned in before he could talk himself out of it and sucked Puck’s lip between his teeth. He felt Puck’s groan rumble through his chest, felt the familiar curl of want in his belly and slid a hand under Puck’s shirt to press his palm against hot skin.

“Kurt,” Puck murmured against his mouth, then again, louder, and when he reached down to pull Kurt’s hand away from his stomach Kurt blinked and pulled back to frown at him. “Somebody’s coming.”

Kurt blinked again, trying and failing to clear the fog that had settled in his brain. The sound of footsteps penetrated the distracting urge to pull Puck close again, and when he glanced toward the door Finn was standing outside his room staring at them.

“Oh. Uh...hey, guys. I...uh.”

His eyes were a little wide, as though he hadn’t actually believed Kurt and Puck were together until he saw it for himself. And there was no reason to stand there and stare as though they were some kind of exotic display at the zoo or something, but there he was all the same, sort of frowning at them as though he was waiting for them to perform a trick.

“You want something, dude?” Puck asked, annoyed, and Kurt turned at the sound of his voice to find Puck raising an eyebrow in Finn’s direction.

“No...uh...I just thought I’d...no,” Finn stammered, and when Puck rolled his eyes Kurt allowed himself a tiny smile. He waited until he heard Finn head back down the hall toward his own room, then the soft click of his door closing behind him.

Once he was gone Puck looked at him again, shaking his head and breathing out hard through his nose. As though maybe he wasn’t any more prepared for Finn to see them together than Finn was to see them, and Kurt’s heart sank at the thought. Because it was one thing for Puck to say he didn’t care who knew about them, but it was another for him to deal with the reality of people staring and whispering and calling him names.

“That’s what it’s going to be like once people know,” Kurt said, voice quiet and his gaze locked on the center of Puck’s chest. “That and a lot worse. I know you think you know what you’re getting into...”

Kurt,” Puck interrupted, voice sharp and making Kurt look up at him. “I already told you, I don’t care what Finn or any of those other assholes think.”

“I know you believe that now, but it’s going to be different tomorrow.”

As soon as he said it Puck was moving, pushing up on the mattress and moving away and it was all Kurt could do not to grab his arm and pull him close again. He wanted Puck to stay – he wanted _Puck_ , more than he’d ever wanted anything – but if he was going to run as soon as he figured out how hard this was going to be, Kurt wanted to know now.

“If you’re looking for an out here, just say so.”

“What? No,” Kurt said, panic rising in his throat at the thought of losing what they had before it even really started. “Of course I’m not.”

“You sure about that?” Because you’ve been trying to get me to bail since the beginning.”

"I have not," Kurt said, frowning at the way his voice shook. He hadn't; he couldn't have, because the last thing he wanted was for Puck to change his mind. But he’d been the one to tell Puck they couldn’t over and over, and he was the one who’d stayed with Blaine when he knew long before Puck came along that it wasn’t working.

Puck blew out a harsh breath, jaw set and scowling at him, and Kurt's stomach trembled again. And maybe Puck had a point, because Kurt had been waiting for him to back out since this whole thing started. But that didn't mean he wanted it to happen, and now that it was a possibility, he had no idea how to make it right.

"So what's the problem? Are you scared about what those losers at school are going to think? Babe, you're better than all of them."

Just hearing Puck say the words made Kurt's throat close up. He took a deep breath, blinking against the stinging in the corners of his eyes as he looked up at Puck. "I'm not scared of what people are going to think."

"Then what?" Puck said, but he sounded less angry now, and Kurt took another shaky breath when Puck's hand landed on his neck. "Just say it already."

Kurt frowned, struggling to focus while Puck’s thumb was stroking little patterns on the side of his neck. He didn’t even know how they’d gotten here, because a few minutes ago everything had been fine, then Finn put in an appearance and suddenly it was all wrong again.

“I’m not scared,” Kurt insisted, but he felt the heat spreading down his neck and he knew Puck wouldn’t miss it. “It’s just...you’re not even gay.”

Puck rolled his eyes, and that wasn’t fair, because it was a valid point. Sure, Puck wanted him now, but there was no telling how long it would last. With Blaine things weren’t perfect, but he’d known they could last. Puck made him feel things he’d never even considered before, and the thought of losing all that when Puck decided he’d had enough scared Kurt more than anything since his dad’s heart attack.

“Look, was that true, what your ex said to Rachel?” Puck asked, and Kurt blushed even harder when he realized that Puck was asking if Kurt really was in love with him. He wanted to say no, that Blaine was just hurt and angry and looking for a way to make Kurt feel as bad as he did. He could probably even convince Puck it was true, but when he looked up and saw Puck’s expression he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it.

Puck’s eyes were dark, jaw set in that determined line Kurt was starting to get used to, but he looked a little nervous, too, like maybe it mattered to him how Kurt felt. And maybe if he told Puck the truth it would ruin everything; maybe he’d pull away and clear his throat and say this was way too heavy for him, that he wanted Kurt, sure, maybe even liked him, but love was more than he could handle.

He took a shaky breath and looked up, holding Puck’s steady gaze while he nodded. For a second Puck just looked at him, and Kurt’s pulse pounded in his ears while he waited for the moment that Puck let go and started making excuses. But his hand was still on Kurt’s neck, then he pushed forward and kissed Kurt again, swallowing the sound of Kurt’s broken gasp and hooking an arm around his waist to pull him close.

Kurt’s arms slid around his neck, just holding on and kissing Puck back with everything he had in him. Because if this was the last time he wanted to remember it, but if there was a chance it wasn’t, he wanted to remind Puck why they’d started all this in the first place.

His whole family was still in the house, any of them liable to walk past at any time and see him kissing Puck like his life depended on it. But he couldn't make himself care, not when he'd more or less just said, "I love you," and Puck had stayed anyway. He hadn't said it back, but he was kissing Kurt like he didn't hate the idea, and when Puck pushed him backwards Kurt dragged Puck down onto the mattress with him.

"Kurt," Puck murmured against his mouth, softer this time, and Kurt's pulse pounded even harder when Puck's mouth left his to trail along his neck.

His hands slid down Puck's back, under the hem of his shirt to drag his fingers across warm skin, and when Puck groaned into his neck and pulled back to look at him the heat in his eyes went straight to Kurt's dick.

"You're killing me, babe," he said, but he was smiling. "Your dad catches us like this and he'll ban me from more than just sleeping over."

"He's really not that unreasonable," Kurt answered, but he let Puck put a little space between them anyway, because making out was one thing, but if Puck stayed pressed up against him for much longer Kurt wouldn’t be responsible for his own actions.

Puck's laugh was warm against his skin, and Kurt's stomach trembled all over again when a hand pushed through his hair. Just looking, and it took everything in Kurt not to look away, but somehow he held Puck’s gaze.

"Look, you can call this whatever you want. All I know is I like how I feel when I’m with you. Not just the fucking,” Puck said, and when he smirked Kurt felt it in his dick. “I just want you, Kurt. Fuck what anybody else thinks about it.”

He was still terrified of what happened tomorrow when they got to school and Puck was faced with the reality of being Kurt Hummel’s boyfriend. There was still a good chance that Puck would take one too many slushies or locker shoves and decide it wasn’t worth it, that no matter how he felt when they were alone, it wasn’t enough to ruin what was left of his reputation. But Puck sounded like he meant it, at least for now, and Kurt _wanted_ to believe him.

“Okay,” he heard himself say, but when he pushed forward for another kiss Puck caught him and held him just far enough away to raise an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah? So you’re gonna stop freaking out?”

“I’m not making any promises,” Kurt said, but he smiled, and Puck huffed another soft laugh. “But I’ll try.”

“Good,” Puck said, leaning in to meet Kurt halfway. “You’re picking me up for school tomorrow, right?”

Kurt blinked at him up close, imagining actually walking into school with Puck in the morning. He flushed and nodded, hands on Puck’s chest to twist his fingers in the soft cotton of his t-shirt. “If you want.”

“Are you kidding? What’s the point of having a boyfriend with a totally sweet ride if I don’t get to show up at school in style?”

Kurt made a mental note to complain about his boyfriend using him for his car, just as soon as he finished kissing Puck back.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [your time here is fleeting](https://archiveofourown.org/works/257949) by [JENGEORGE](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JENGEORGE/pseuds/JENGEORGE)
  * [Cover for "Like A Chord On A Harp by Carolinecrane"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6406540) by [PeggyStarkk (LupusUlulans)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LupusUlulans/pseuds/PeggyStarkk)




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